Missing
by MegTDJ
Summary: Rodney is stranded alone and dying on an alien world. Does anyone even notice that he's gone? (Slight McKayWeir) Complete
1. Prologue

Title: Missing  
Author: MegTDJ  
Category: Angst/drama  
Rating: PG-13, borderline R  
Pairing: McKay/Weir, mostly UST  
Spoilers: Underground, The Storm, The Eye  
Summary: Rodney is stranded alone and dying on an alien world. Does anyone even notice that he's gone?  
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis, its universe and its characters are not mine. The story itself is, however, so please don't archive without my permission.  
Warning: Violence, torture

Author's notes: This isn't a song fic, but it was inspired by the song "Missing" by Evanescence. Every time I heard that song, I got this image in my head that I just couldn't shake, so I had to turn it into a fic.

Many thanks to Kerri, Misty, Julie, the whole gang at Gateview, and everyone else who's given me encouragement and support during the highs and lows of writing this fic. And boy were there highs and lows... Major hugs to all you guys! I couldn't do this without you:)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

**Missing**

**Prologue**

So this is what it feels like to die.

Rodney felt strangely calm as this thought crossed his mind. It was funny - all of his life, he'd been afraid of death. Now that it was staring him in the face, he almost welcomed it.

He tried to shift position to make himself more comfortable, but it only made his head spin even more. He wished he had a bed, or at least a blanket. He was cold, he was hungry, and the floor he was lying on smelled like old cheese. Okay, so maybe not cheese. He didn't want to think about what was really causing that foul stench, because he was face down in it.

With a heavy sigh resulting in a slight cough and a wince of pain, he realized that it was getting dark again. He'd lost track of how many days and nights he'd spent in this place, but he knew this would definitely be his last. There was no way he'd make it through another night. He'd coughed up blood an hour or so earlier. That was never a good sign.

On top of that, he didn't think he could move his legs anymore. No doubt that was due to the knock he'd taken on the head just before he'd been left to lie there face down in God knew what for God knew how long.

Yes, he definitely wanted to die.

He did wish he could see his very last sunset, though. He'd never really taken the time to appreciate things like that throughout his life, and he was starting to regret that now. Actually, he was starting to regret a lot of things. Funny how knowing you're about to die makes you re-evaluate your life and shows you what a waste of time it all was.

Not that he hadn't realized that already. Just the fact that his teammates had abandoned him here to his fate was proof enough. He'd never been very sociable, but that was no excuse for pushing everyone away so much that they actually came to hate him. If he could go back and change the way he'd treated his co-workers, he would do it in a heartbeat. Maybe if he'd just laid off the sarcasm and opened up about his true feelings once in a while... tried to make friends with his teammates instead of just tolerated them in order to get the job done...

He quickly nipped that train of thought in the bud. What was he, Mr. Rogers? The whole "nice guy" routine just wasn't him. If people hated him for being the way he was, then so be it.

Still, he didn't understand why they'd just left him here to die.

The ache that had come over him periodically throughout his time here settled over him yet again at this thought. They'd left him. They hadn't even tried to rescue him, or he'd be free by now. It hurt more than he could ever have imagined, and made him realize that he'd just been deluding himself when he thought he was merely tolerating these people - they _had_ been his friends.

At least, he'd thought they were. Truth be told, they were the closest he'd ever had to a family. He'd never gotten along with his parents, and he hadn't seen or heard from his sister in years. He'd really started to think he'd found his place on Atlantis, and he enjoyed being a part of Major Sheppard's team. Now it seemed that it had all just been a lie.

He could feel himself slowly drifting off to sleep as he lay there thinking about the people who had come to mean so much to him. Major Sheppard, Carson, Dr. What's-his-name, Lt. Ford, Teyla... and Elizabeth.

For some reason, Elizabeth's face passed in front of his mind's eye more often than the rest. He supposed it was because in the short time he'd known her, she'd come to mean more to him than any of the others. He respected and admired her, and that was pretty rare for him. Part of him had hoped he stood a chance of being more to her than just a friend someday, but he had told himself over and over how stupid he was to think that way. She was way out of his league.

Still, she did seem to regard him as a friend, more than anyone else on Atlantis did. She wouldn't have left him behind like this if she'd been with them that day.

Would she?

He groaned as he realized that any kind of rescue effort would come from her order. He hadn't been rescued. He would never be rescued. Maybe she hadn't considered him worthy of risking other people's lives to save. Maybe she and everyone else had already forgotten about him. Maybe he was so unimportant to them that they wouldn't even notice he was gone.

Tears stung his eyes at the thought. Well, they'd certainly notice his absence once something on Atlantis malfunctioned and he wasn't there to fix it. They'd all look around and think to themselves, "Didn't there used to be a guy around here that knew how to work this thing?"

Of course, then one of the other scientists would step forward and pretend to know what needed to be done, and they'd go back to their lovely little Rodney-free lives.

This thought sent him even deeper into despair. The pain in his ribcage threatened to consume him, and he wasn't about to fight it. One more coughing fit and it would finish him. It wouldn't be long now.

Just as he felt himself falling into blissful sleep, he heard the dreaded noise again. _Clang. Clang. Clang._

They were coming.

Rodney stiffened in fear, the slight movement causing a fresh wave of pain to wash over him. God, hadn't they had enough yet? Didn't they know he was dying?

_Clang._

Only one door remained between them. Rodney sent a quick prayer up to whatever god might be listening, and braced himself.

_Clang. Thump. Creak._

He felt rough hands grab him by the arms and haul him to his feet, but his legs felt like they were made of rubber and gave out on him completely.

"Stand," the gruff voice he'd come to know all too well commanded.

"I... I can't..."

"Stand!"

Rodney could feel himself sinking, but his mind was growing foggier by the second. The one good thing about it was that he didn't feel the pain anymore.

Until he felt himself hit the ground, at which point pain shot through his body like knives. Then he felt the familiar sensation of a boot to his stomach, and all of a sudden he couldn't breathe.

Even though he was no longer fully aware of his surroundings, Rodney knew that to breathe meant to live, and to live meant more pain. A feeling of warmth passed over him as he fought back the urge to fight. He surrendered to it, everything around him being swallowed up by darkness that was made of pure light as his body began to shut down.

His last conscious thought was of Elizabeth, and how he would never get to say goodbye to her. Her face flashed before his eyes as everything else faded away. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," he whispered with what little air was left in his lungs.

Then there was nothing.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Two weeks earlier..._

"There you are," Major Sheppard snapped. "What the hell took you so long?"

"Sorry!" Rodney said as he jogged down the steps and joined his teammates in front of the Stargate. "I was just..."

"Forget it," Sheppard cut him off. "I don't want to hear it. We're already ten minutes late."

Rodney glared at him. "Well, if you didn't want to hear it, then why did you ask?"

Sheppard rolled his eyes and signalled for whoever was in the control room to start dialling the gate.

"Good luck, Major," Elizabeth called down from the balcony. "Try not to get into any trouble this time, huh? We need this alliance."

Sheppard turned to her with a wry smile and gave a casual salute. Then he turned towards Rodney. "I think she was aiming that last comment at _you_," he said, slapping Rodney in the stomach with the back of his hand.

"Me?" Rodney said in indignation. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," Sheppard returned. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

Rodney scowled at him as Sheppard sauntered towards the active Stargate. He stood rooted to the spot as Ford and Teyla followed their commander through, taking a moment to look up at Elizabeth.

She was still standing there on the balcony watching them leave, and she seemed puzzled by his hesitation. She shrugged and opened her hands as though she were asking him what was taking him so long.

Rodney couldn't tell whether Sheppard had been right about her last comment or not, so he just shook his head, lifted his hand in a brief wave, and then headed into the event horizon.

"God, you even took your sweet time coming through the gate," Sheppard greeted him on the other side. "What's up with you today?"

"What's up with _you_?" Rodney snapped right back at him. "You've been on my back all day!"

"Dr. McKay!" Teyla stepped in, resting her hand lightly on his chest. "Major Sheppard, please. Stop this fighting, or the people of this planet will have a poor impression of us before you have even met them."

"She's right," Sheppard said. "Best behaviour, folks. Rodney... that means keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking, okay?"

Rodney opened his mouth to protest, but at Sheppard's cocked eyebrow he snapped it shut again. He'd wait until they got back to Atlantis before he voiced his annoyance at the major's attitude. Hopefully Elizabeth would be on his side. This was no way to treat your resident astrophysicist.

The rest of the team started walking ahead of him as they made their way to the town about half a kilometre away. Once Sheppard was out of earshot, Rodney muttered angrily, "Want me to keep my mouth shut? Maybe that's just what I'll do." That would be sure to shock him.

They walked along in complete silence for a few minutes, until they finally came upon a group of the planet's inhabitants. When they turned to look at the newcomers, Sheppard raised his hand in greeting. "Hi!" he called to them. "We're here to trade. Don't suppose you folks could point us in the right direction, could you?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. There was one road. What direction did he think was the _wrong_ one?

The townspeople looked confused for a moment, but then one of the men turned and pointed down the path towards the town.

"Right," Sheppard said with a grateful nod. "Thank you." He turned towards his teammates and gestured ahead. "Shall we?"

Rodney had to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything, but he took comfort in the fact that Ford and Teyla were giving the major weird looks, too.

After a few paces, it was Lt. Ford who finally spoke. "This may sound like a dumb question, but... what exactly do we know about these people besides that they're traders? I mean, after what just happened with the Genii..."

Sheppard winced. "You had to bring them up, didn't you?"

Ford shrugged. "It's a fair point, isn't it?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, it is," Sheppard replied. "Which is exactly why we're all gonna keep our eyes open at all times, understood?"

"I do not believe the Decarians would do anyone harm," Teyla said.

"Well, that's what you thought about the Genii, wasn't it?"

Sheppard seemed to regret the words as soon as they were out of his mouth, but Rodney could see that it was too late. Teyla looked away and kept a guarded expression on her face, but he could tell that the comment had upset her.

He was just about ready to throttle the major, but he somehow managed to restrain himself.

It didn't take them long to reach the town after that. Once they entered the gates, they found themselves caught up in a bustling crowd that reminded Rodney of the rush on Boxing Day for all the sales. Through the masses of people, they saw tents and booths set up nearby. This was the marketplace the Athosians had told them so much about.

"Alright, everybody stick together," Sheppard said. "Teyla, lead the way."

Rodney looked around in curiosity as they walked along, taking in all of the people and their various wares in case any of them had anything that could be of use to them. Some of the food looked pretty good, but other than that he didn't see anything that interested him.

Until they rounded a corner and found themselves walking down the technology aisle.

Rodney's mouth fell open as he tried to look at everything all at once. He didn't know what half of these devices were supposed to be, but God was he ever dying to find out.

"My God, these look like phasers!" he cried, rushing over to one of the stalls and carefully picking up one of the handheld weapons.

"Are you sure you should be touching that?" Sheppard asked. "Don't kill anybody with it."

Rodney shot him a black look. As hard as he was trying to remain silent, he finally couldn't help but let loose. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, Major. You're right. It's not like I've ever held a weapon or a piece of alien technology before. What was I thinking?"

"Mackush is the man we have come to see," Teyla said, once again acting as peacemaker between the two of them. "We can ask him if he will allow us to take some back with us."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Sheppard said, forcing a smile. He swiped a hand across his forehead and then gestured back to the road. "Lead on."

They started on their way down the street again, but barely got ten paces before Rodney's eyes just about bulged right out of his head. "Oh my God!" he exclaimed. "Is that a power converter?"

"Here we go again," he heard Sheppard mumble. "Rodney, stay with us or get left behind."

Rodney didn't answer. He didn't fully believe that they would actually leave without him, but even if they did, he didn't care. He'd much rather be out here than sitting inside negotiating for the entire day. Without a word, he went over to the booth and started examining the technology.

The man behind the booth ambled over to him, unabashedly looking him over from head to toe. "You are not from any of the worlds in our confederation," he said.

"No, we're not," Rodney replied. "We're actually here to negotiate with your leaders about that. Is this a thermionic power converter?"

"A what?"

Rodney sighed. He should have known the guy wouldn't understand Earth's scientific terms. "A device that converts heat into energy?"

The man nodded slowly. "It might be."

Rodney had to hold himself back from dancing a jig on the spot. "How much power does one of these devices generate?"

"Much," the man said, showing no emotion whatsoever despite the obvious excitement of his potential customer. "Enough to power a large ship for many, many cycles."

Rodney grinned. One of these itty bitty devices could give them more power than a naquadah reactor? Wait until Elizabeth heard about this. "Well, my friend, it looks like you're going to be the answer to our prayers," he said.

The man scowled and snatched the device away from Rodney. "I am not your friend," he said in a rather nasty tone. "Even if you are invited to join the confederation, I still will not be selling this technology to you."

"Why not?"

"I created this device. I decide to whom I pass it along. That is all I will say to you. Good day."

Rodney gaped in confusion as the man took his things off of the table and retreated into his tent. "Hey!" he called. "Do you know how many lives something like that could save if you just let me look at the blueprints? Come on, it's not like I'm asking you to give it to me for free. We'd give you whatever you wanted in return... within reason."

Not a sound or a movement from the tent.

Rodney sighed and turned around, only to find that he'd attracted quite a crowd. A couple dozen of the townspeople had gathered around the booth, staring at the stranger with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion in their eyes.

Suddenly, Rodney wished he'd stayed close to the others.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

John rubbed his aching head as he tried to keep his temper under control yet again. He was beginning to wish he'd just stayed in bed that morning rather than trying to ignore the steady pounding behind his eyes.

"So, when _will_ we be able to meet with Councillor Mackush?" he asked in a low voice. Not that he expected a straight answer. He'd been having this circular conversation with the councillor's assistant for almost ten minutes.

"When he returns," the woman answered, just as cool, calm, and collected as she had the first dozen times he'd asked.

John sighed heavily and nodded. "Fine. When he returns," he conceded. "Any ideas on what we should do in the meantime?"

"We can set you up with accommodations just across the road," she said. "And you are free to wander through the marketplace at your leisure."

John gave her a wry smile. "We just can't _buy_ anything," he said.

She smiled and nodded. "That is correct." She scribbled something down on a piece of paper and then handed it to him. "Just give this to the person behind the counter at the building across the road," she instructed. "They will provide for you all that you need. Good day."

John rolled his eyes as he turned away from her to face the rest of his team. Well, half of his team. The fact that Rodney still hadn't shown up just made him so mad that his head started thumping even more. "Lieutenant, take this over to the building across the street and give it to whoever's behind the counter," he said, passing him the note. "Find out where we can stay for the night, where we can get something to eat, all that kinda stuff."

"Yes, Sir."

"Teyla, you and I have a scientist to catch," he said, gesturing for her to follow him as he headed for the door. "Preferably alive, so that I can have the pleasure of killing him," he added.

"Do you not think you are overreacting, Major Sheppard?" Teyla asked with that knowing look in her eyes that he either found comforting or aggravating, depending on the circumstances. Right then, it was definitely aggravating.

"Overreacting?" he repeated. "I told him to stay with us, and he wandered off anyway. You don't think that's worth the death penalty?"

Teyla shot him a disapproving glare. "No. He is a scientist, Major. How could you expect him to resist the devices we were walking past so casually? It is in his nature to gravitate towards them, and I believe you know that."

John sighed and quickly put his sunglasses on as they headed out into daylight again. "What do you want me to do, Teyla?" he said. "My head's about to split open here, okay? All I wanted to do was come here, work out this alliance, and head home." He sighed again. "It can never be that easy, can it?"

Teyla gave him a sympathetic smile. "Why did you not tell anyone that you were feeling unwell?" she asked. "You should not have come."

"That's exactly why I didn't tell anyone," he replied. "I had to do my job. Besides, I thought I'd be okay until I stepped through the Stargate. Remind me next time that it's a bad idea to go travelling across the galaxy when you already feel like crap, would you?"

"Perhaps you should learn to better judge your limitations," she said, giving him that knowing look again. "Then you would not need my reminder."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Major! Thank God, there you are." A breathless Rodney jogged over to them, stopping a couple feet away to bend over and try to catch his breath.

"Where the hell have you been?" John demanded. "I told you to stay with us!"

"I was trying to get us a good deal on a..."

"Well, forget it," John snapped. "Turns out we're not allowed to buy or sell _anything_ until we're made members of this... confederation. You wasted your time."

Rodney's expression hardened in an instant. "I guess you wouldn't care to hear about how I was cut off from coming after you for the past few minutes by a silent yet very menacing crowd, so I'll just shut my mouth and stay out of your way."

John was slightly taken aback by Rodney's sudden venom, but he was feeling too crappy to take him up on it. "You do that," he said, and then started making his way over to the building Lt. Ford had entered moments earlier. "Let's go find us someplace to stay, shall we?"

He didn't turn around, but he could hear Rodney and Teyla fall into step behind him. Rodney really did stay quiet as they entered the hotel-like building, were handed keys to their rooms, and trudged up the stairs to the third floor. He had a bad feeling about that. Rodney was _never_ this quiet for this long.

It occurred to him as he entered his private room and collapsed onto the bed that he should probably apologize to him and explain why he'd been so snappy with him all day, but he figured it could wait until he'd had a nap. There was no rush, after all. They'd probably be waiting on the councillor for at least twenty-four hours, so there'd be plenty of time for apologies later.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Rodney shrugged off his jacket and pack and plopped down onto his bed. He could hear Ford and Teyla coming out of their rooms and discussing where to go for dinner, but for once in his life, Rodney didn't feel like eating.

He wasn't at all surprised that they didn't even knock on his door to invite him along. The looks he'd given them both had made it clear without words that he wanted to be left alone right now. He just sat there until he heard them walk away, and then lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling as he thought things over.

His experience in the marketplace was fresh on his mind, but he still didn't know what to make of it. He had no idea what he'd done that was so bad, but for some reason all of the townspeople had looked at him with such disapproval that he felt as though he were a naughty schoolboy or something. Why had they gathered around him like that? Why had they stood so close together so he couldn't get past them? It was like something out of the Twilight Zone.

Speaking of the Twilight Zone, Major Sheppard's behaviour was reaching that level of abnormality, too. Rodney hadn't a clue what he'd done to upset him so much, but he wasn't about to ask. He'd just leave him alone and let him stew until they got back to Atlantis.

After lying there for a few minutes, hunger finally started to set in, so Rodney got up to hunt around in his pack for something to snack on. He found a couple of power bars, and sat back down on the bed to munch on them for a while. He was starting to feel lonely, too, but it was too late now to go after Ford and Teyla, and there was no way in hell that he was going to knock on Sheppard's door. So, he just sat there. And sat there some more.

He couldn't believe what a bust this mission was turning out to be.

About an hour later, he heard Ford and Teyla returning to their rooms, but he still hadn't heard a sound from Sheppard. Maybe that was for the best. At least then he wasn't on anyone's back.

He somehow made it through the next couple of hours without pulling his hair out in boredom, until he finally decided it was time for bed. As he undressed and climbed under the covers, a strange feeling suddenly came over him that he couldn't quite explain. It was like there was something missing - something he couldn't put his finger on, yet it was almost painful in its absence. He figured it must just be the fact that he hadn't spoken in a few hours, so he shrugged it off and turned out the light.

As soon as the room fell into darkness, the noises from the street outside seemed to become more distinct. There seemed to still be quite a crowd out there, even though it was well past nightfall. Didn't these people ever go home? He was surprised there were no neon lights to keep the town lit up nice and bright for them after the sun went down.

He lay there wide-awake for a few minutes, until he noticed that the hustle and bustle outside had suddenly died down to almost nothing. He figured that meant everyone had finally called it a night, so he turned over onto his side and tried to get comfortable. Within minutes, he was sound asleep.

As soon as he fell asleep, he began to have some very disturbing dreams. He was alone in every single one of them, running through hallways and empty streets looking for something... or someone. It finally occurred to him that he was looking for Elizabeth - that he was trying to warn her about something that he couldn't quite remember.

Moments after this thought came to his mind, he heard footsteps somewhere behind him in the darkness. At first it sounded like one person, but then he heard more and more and more, until...

He jerked awake at the sound of his door being thrown open and the footsteps rushing into his room.

"What the hell is this?" he shouted, but that was all he could say before receiving a fist to the jaw.

"Be silent," said one of the dark figures that were now surrounding his bed. "Fight us and you will regret it. You are under arrest for the murder of Jassin Tiya."

"Jason who?" Rodney asked in confusion. This earned him another blow to the face.

"Silence," the man with the lightning fist warned again. "On your feet."

Rodney didn't really have a choice in the matter, as he was then yanked out of the bed by his arms and made to stand on the floor. "Mind if I get dressed first?" he asked, not really caring to be led through the hotel and out into the street in just his t-shirt and boxers.

"No need," the man said. He snapped his fingers, and two of the other men dragged Rodney out of the room.

They didn't pause for a second as they took him down the stairs, out the front door of the building, and along the street. Rodney only half believed that he was awake, sure that nothing like this could actually happen to him. Arrested for murder? How could that possibly be real? He'd been alone in his room for hours, for God's sake. How could he have murdered anybody?

After a minute or so of being dragged along, Rodney was just starting to get angry when they seemed to arrive at their destination. At least, that's what he figured when he saw the crowd of people gathered around a large platform.

"What are you going to do with me?" he asked fearfully as his two escorts started towards the platform.

"Silence," one of them snapped, raising his fist as if to strike him. Rodney flinched at the action, which only served to amuse his captors.

When they arrived at the platform, he was shoved up the steps and led over to some kind of raised podium. Once he got to the foot of it, his hands were roughly pulled behind his back and fastened together. Then he was shoved up the two remaining steps onto the podium, which was surrounded by a low barrier that just about came up to his waist. This was slammed shut and locked, effectively trapping him inside.

He looked out at the crowd below him and didn't see a single face that looked sympathetic. In fact, they all looked angry. Very, very angry.

Rodney swallowed hard as he realized that this wasn't a dream. He could feel the pain in his jaw from where he'd been struck, and the night air was cold on his bare arms and legs. This was definitely not a dream.

"Now would be a good time for you to show up, Major," he whispered, hoping to see his friends' faces in the crowd as they waited for their chance to rescue him.

"This is the man!" someone on the other side of the platform suddenly bellowed, making Rodney jump. "This is the evil stranger who murdered our dear friend Jassin Tiya!"

That certainly got the crowd going. They'd been relatively quiet before, but now there was yelling, cursing, wailing, and even spitting, though thankfully no one was able to spit quite far enough to reach him. The dirt and stones reached him with no problems, however. A clod of mud hit Rodney right in the face, almost covering one eye completely, and he didn't have a free hand to wipe it away. Showers of small pebbles pelted him in the chest and face, one particularly sharp one hitting him right in the chin, where it felt as though it drew blood.

Rodney had never been so terrified in his entire life.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Major Sheppard! Major Sheppard, wake up! Quickly, we must hurry!"

John rubbed his face to wake himself up and stumbled out of the bed. "Teyla?" he called groggily.

"Yes! Please, open the door!"

He unlocked the door and pulled it open, coming face to face with a rather panicked-looking Teyla. That in itself made him nervous. "What's going on?"

"They have taken Dr. McKay," she said, coming straight to the point as always. "Guards came and dragged him right out of his bed and into the street! We did not know until it was too late. Lieutenant Ford has followed them."

"What! Why the hell would anyone..."

"I believe they said something about a murder."

"Murder!" John ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think. Then he dashed back into his room, grabbed his gear, and started strapping it on as he joined Teyla out in the hallway. "Let's go."

They didn't get very far, however, before they saw two men hauling Ford up the stairs towards them. Ford didn't look very happy about it.

"Get your hands off me!" he shouted, trying to break out of their grasp. "What the hell is this?"

"That's what I would like to know," John said, directing a steely gaze towards the bigger of the two men. "Where have you taken Dr. McKay? What the hell is going on here?"

"Your friend has committed a crime for which he must pay," a third man announced as he joined the others at the top of the stairs. He gestured towards John's room and added, "If you will go back inside, I will explain the situation to you."

"I don't give a damn about your explanations," John snapped. "I want you to release my teammate right now. Then we'll be on our way, no questions asked."

"I am afraid that is unacceptable," the man said. "We have a very strict justice system."

"Well, so do we. Trust me, if I believed Dr. McKay had committed some kind of crime, I'd be the first to beat the crap out of him and make sure he was good and sorry for what he'd done, but the fact is, Rodney McKay wouldn't do anything to deserve that. He's not a criminal."

"I appreciate that, Major Sheppard," the man said, his voice level and calm even though John's was almost frantic with his fear and anger. "However, we have evidence that he has committed a most cruel and calculated murder, and I am fairly sure that you will not be able to dispute it once you have heard me out."

John narrowed his eyes at the stranger. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

The man gave a slight smirk. "Everyone here knows who you are, Major," he said. "Come."

John wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to hear what this man had to say, but one look at the two men who had only just let go of Lt. Ford told him that he didn't have much of a chance at leaving before they wanted him to. He rolled his eyes, but nodded for Ford and Teyla to follow him back into his room.

As the stranger closed and locked the door behind them, it suddenly occurred to John that this entire situation was his own fault. He should never have come on this mission while he was unable to give one hundred percent towards the protection of his team. If anything happened to Rodney, it would be on his head for the rest of his life.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"But I didn't do anything!"

The crowd hushed as the man on the platform held up his hand to them and approached Rodney. "Are you able to prove that, Dr. McKay?" he asked.

Rodney looked out at the crowd once more, his eyes searching desperately for any sign of his teammates. Still nothing. "Prove it?" he repeated. "Prove _what_ exactly? What is it that I'm supposed to have done?"

"You were talking to Jassin Tiya earlier today, were you not?"

"Who is Jassin Tiya?" Rodney yelled in exasperation. "I've never heard that name before!"

One of the men who'd dragged him onto the platform ran towards him then, driving his fist into Rodney's stomach. Rodney doubled over in pain, breathless.

"He is the man whose power conversion device you seemed so interested to own," the first man said.

Rodney coughed as he tried to catch his breath. "The scientist?" he said. "I barely talked to him for two minutes. I didn't kill him!"

"You tampered with his device so that it would kill him the next time he tried to activate it. That is the same thing as murder here, Dr. McKay, no matter what the laws are like on your world."

"I barely even touched it!"

This got him a slap across the face that left his cheek stinging and his ears ringing. He was getting sick of the rough treatment. He hadn't taken this many knocks since high school.

"We have witnesses," the man said. "Witnesses who saw you do something to the device while Jassin was not watching, after he told you he would not be selling it to you."

"He took it away as soon as he said that," Rodney argued. "There were people all around... someone must have seen what happened!"

"The only people who witnessed the incident gave the same story, that you lingered around his booth and waited for your opportunity to go into his tent and tamper with the device. You will find no one who will say otherwise."

Rodney stared at the man in stunned silence for a long moment before he found his voice to speak again. "That's what it was about, wasn't it? Everyone crowding around me like that... they were making sure I would be there long enough that this could have happened. I've been set up!"

He could have sworn the man smiled before he turned away and paced across the platform. When he turned back to him, he asked loud enough for his audience to hear, "Did your team leader not fear for others' lives when he saw you handling a weapon?"

Rodney blinked, "What?"

"I believe his words were, 'Are you sure you should be touching that? Don't kill anybody with it.'"

Those words sounded awfully familiar to Rodney. "Yeah... he said that. What about it?"

"He obviously believed you capable of taking lives."

"No!" Rodney cried. "He was... he was joking around! What, you people have never heard of sarcasm?"

Another fist to the stomach almost drove him to the ground. "I guess not," he gasped.

"I, Councillor Mackush, declare you guilty of the murder of citizen Jassin Tiya. For your crime, you will be sentenced to life imprisonment, having only yourself for company so you will have much time to think about what you have done."

Rodney's jaw dropped in horror. "What!"

Mackush nodded to the two men who were still standing by. "Take him to the prison."

Panic set in as they started to move towards Rodney. "Look," he said desperately, "I don't know what happened to that device, and I don't know why you're trying to pin whatever it was on me, but just know this... if something happens to me, my teammates will make you pay for it."

"Are you so sure about that?" Mackush pointed out to the audience, and Rodney followed his gaze to a spot at the back of the crowd. Major Sheppard, Lt. Ford and Teyla were skirting their way around the people, heading for the town limits and the Stargate.

They were leaving him behind.

"Major!" Rodney cried. "Help me!"

Sheppard turned to look over at him, but before Rodney could call out anymore, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. His legs turned to mush as stars exploded in front of his eyes, and he slumped to the ground, losing consciousness before he'd even finished falling.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"So then he told us that about a dozen people had come forward with the same testimony - they'd seen Rodney hanging around this guy's booth until he thought no one was looking, and then he went in there and rigged the device to explode."

Elizabeth stared at Major Sheppard in shock. "For what possible reason?" she asked.

"According to this Ronas guy, because if we couldn't have it, nobody could," Sheppard answered, though he didn't seem to buy it for one second.

"That's ridiculous... Rodney would never think like that."

"I know. That's what I said." Sheppard sighed. "Ronas seemed pretty confident that he'd got the right guy, though. There was no talking him out of it. Trust me, we tried. He wouldn't listen to a word we said; he just told us that if we didn't high tail it off his planet, we'd be arrested, too, for aiding and abetting. I figured we'd stand a better chance of getting him out of there if we came back here and got a rescue party together."

Elizabeth looked around the table at the crestfallen faces of Lt. Ford and Teyla. There was no doubt in her mind that they'd done everything they could, and that they were feeling horribly guilty for leaving their friend and teammate behind even if it was only temporary.

"Ronas asked us whether we could verify Dr. McKay's location during the time the witnesses say that he was hanging around Jassin's booth," Teyla said quietly. "We could not do so, though I do not believe he was causing trouble."

"He _was_ separated from us for a long time," Lt. Ford said with great regret in his tone.

"Did he not say something about being held back from following us?" Teyla said. "It sounds as though they were planning this from the moment we arrived."

"That's insane," Sheppard said. "Why would they want to do that? How could they even arrange that so quickly? Who the hell _are_ those people!"

"Whoever they are," Elizabeth said, "I don't want Rodney to be with them for one moment longer than is absolutely necessary. I'll authorize any kind of rescue effort you feel is needed, Major, though I do ask that you spare as many lives as possible."

Major Sheppard cocked his eyebrow at her. "As many lives as possible?" he repeated. "You mean..."

"If they arranged this whole thing, as it sounds as though they have, I would consider that an act of war, wouldn't you?"

He blinked and looked around at his teammates in confusion. "I... yeah. I just didn't think you would."

"Get him out of there, Major," Elizabeth said as she rose to her feet. "Whatever it takes."

She could feel everyone's eyes on her back as she walked out of the room and into her office, so she tried to act as calm and in control as possible until she was out of their sight. Once in her office, she sat down at her desk, leaned her elbows on the surface, and rubbed her face with her hands.

Their description of the treatment Rodney was receiving had shaken her to the core. He wasn't a military man, and hadn't had the kind of training someone like Major Sheppard would have had in how to deal with these kinds of situations. She couldn't begin to imagine how terrified he must be right now, and how abandoned he must feel.

There was no way they could rescue him fast enough to suit her. She only wished she could come up with a good enough reason to go along.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

_Clang._

The sudden sound of metal-on-metal jerked Rodney back to consciousness. Once the pounding in his head registered to his senses, however, he wished he were still asleep.

_Clang._

The sound was louder this time. He could only assume that was a bad thing.

_Clang._

Yup, definitely getting louder. Rodney raised his head a little to try to look around, but the room, or wherever he was, was in complete darkness.

_Clang._

Rodney swallowed convulsively as he realized what the noises sounded like - metal doors either opening or closing.

_Clang. Thump._

That sounded suspiciously like something had been moved away from his own door. That meant that...

_Creak._

Someone was coming for him.

The second that thought appeared in his mind, someone burst into the room and marched straight over to him. Rodney could see from the light streaming in through the open doorway that he was in some kind of cell, laying on the floor against the far wall. There didn't seem to be any furniture or anything in the little room, aside from what he supposed was a urinal attached to one wall.

Not that he got much of a chance to look around. As soon as the person reached him, he took hold of Rodney's arms and yanked him up onto his feet. "Walk," he said in a gruff, throaty voice, shoving Rodney towards the door.

"Where are you taking me?" Rodney asked, trying to push his panic back down as he felt it bubbling up in his chest and threatening to take control of him. "What's happening?"

"Silence!" the man shouted, cuffing Rodney's ear. "Move."

Rodney flinched at the rough treatment, but did as he was told. He may not have received a straight answer, but he could tell for sure that wherever he was going, something bad was going to happen there.

He'd never been a praying man, but he quickly sent up a plea for mercy to whoever might be listening just in case. He didn't doubt that rescue was on the way. He just wished they'd hurry up and arrive already.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Doc!"

Carson looked up to see Major Sheppard jogging into the infirmary. "What can I do for you, Major?" he asked as he put down his paperwork and approached the man.

"First I guess I should let you know that Rodney's been taken and thrown into an alien prison," the major said. His tone sounded almost sarcastic, but Carson could see the anxiety in his eyes. That didn't fill him with much confidence.

"He what? How did that happen?"

"Long story, Doc," Major Sheppard replied. "I'm heading up a rescue team that'll be leaving any minute, but... I have a slight problem."

"What is it?"

"I've had a killer headache all day," he said, rubbing his forehead unconsciously as he spoke. "Anything you can give me that'll just numb the pain without any side effects?"

Carson's mind started working at top speed then, and within two seconds he knew exactly what to give him. He hurried over to the medicine closet to get it. "Why didn't you tell me this before you went off on the mission?" he asked as he picked up the correct bottle.

"I thought I could handle it," Major Sheppard replied. "I _was_ handling it, until I stepped through the Stargate. Besides, the supplies are getting scarce. I don't want to take anything unless it's absolutely necessary."

Carson fetched him a cup of water and handed it to him along with the pills. He watched him in concern as he swallowed them down. "It's bad enough now that painkillers are absolutely necessary?" he asked.

Major Sheppard shook his head and handed him the empty cup. "It's actually better than it was this morning," he said. "I just feel like this whole thing was my fault for not being on my toes. If I'm going back there, I have to be one hundred percent." He gave Carson a slight slap on the shoulder and turned to go. "Thanks, Doc. I'll be back with Rodney before you know it."

"Good luck, Major," Carson called after him.

"Oh, and Doc?" Major Sheppard stopped at the door, looking somewhat uncomfortable about whatever he was about to say. "They, uh... I kinda got the impression that... these people don't seem to buy the theory that prisoners deserve any kind of human rights, if you know what I mean."

Carson felt his face blanch at the thought. "You mean, they're likely to have beaten him?"

"Yeah. We saw him take a few hits while we were still there, so I doubt they'd stop once they get him into the prison. I'm just... hoping that's _all_ they'll do," he added significantly.

Carson nodded in understanding. "I'll be ready." He watched in stunned silence as Major Sheppard hurried out of the room. Images of Rodney coming back beaten and broken flooded into his mind, and it made his stomach turn. He'd seen the way Rodney had reacted to a stab wound to his arm - how would he ever handle ruthless beatings and torture? He shuddered at the thought.

He gave himself a mental shake when he realized how much he was allowing this news to upset him. Rodney had become a good friend to him since they'd met in Antarctica, but even so, he had to keep his head if he was going to be any good to Rodney if or when he did come home in a bad way.

With that thought in mind, he pulled himself together and got back to work. He couldn't help but wonder, though, just what Rodney was going through all alone in that alien prison.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Rodney was intermittently yanked and shoved through the dark hallways of the prison by two silent guards who seemed to enjoy watching him stumble and start as they went along. He'd known guys like that back in his schooldays - the kind who'd step on your shoes just to see you trip, or stick a pin on your chair just to see you jump up and yelp. He was glad he wouldn't have to be around them for very long.

Every now and then, they'd walk past cells with half a dozen or so big, smelly, dirty men inside, reaching their arms out through the bars and shouting at them. Rodney felt as though he'd suddenly found himself in one of those awful prison movies his father had loved so much. The thought made him shudder.

He couldn't help but notice that he was wearing identical pants and shirt to the ones these men wore, though theirs were dirty and ragged and looked like they'd been worn without being washed for years. That was not a pleasant thought.

When they finally arrived at their destination, one of the guards opened a rather Gothic looking door and shoved Rodney inside. He was then led to the center of the room, where there were chains hanging from the ceiling. To his horror, the guards clamped them around his wrists and then did the same to his ankles with chains that were attached to the floor. This held him securely in place with his arms slightly raised and his feet immovable.

Then he was left alone.

Or at least, he seemed to be alone. Just as he was about to panic over the thought that he'd been left to just stand there for the next God knew how long, he heard a voice from the shadows covering the far side of the room.

"It's wonderful to see you again, Dr. McKay. And looking so well, aside from the bruises."

Rodney's heart all but stopped completely at the sound of that voice. He wanted to run, but it was impossible. He could only stand there and watch with wide eyes as the man slowly stepped into the light. "Wh... what the hell are you doing here?"

Kolya smirked. "I couldn't just let an opportunity like this pass me by."

Rodney's jaw dropped. "You mean... it was all you? You were the one who set me up?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Doctor," Kolya said with a shake of his head. "I have better things to do than lie in wait for you on a distant planet. The Genii are close allies with the people on this planet, so naturally I was informed of your crime as soon as you were convicted. I merely took advantage of a situation that had already presented itself. Besides, I am sure I could have come up with a better way of getting you here than staging a murder."

Rodney shuddered as Kolya circled around him slowly. "So... what is it that you want from me?" he asked. "Cause I've got to warn you... you won't have much time to do whatever it is you're about to do. Major Sheppard will be bursting through those doors any minute now."

Kolya chuckled and came around to stand in front of him again. "You really believe that?" he said.

"Yes."

"Well, I am sorry to break this to you, Dr. McKay, but... your friends believed the story they were told. They have already returned to Atlantis, and they will not be coming back."

"That's a lie!" Rodney shouted angrily. "Major Sheppard never leaves anyone behind, and if..."

He was silenced by a backhanded slap to the face.

Kolya leaned in close to Rodney's ear then and said quietly, "Not even you?"

"Not anybody."

Kolya nodded and folded his hands behind his back. He slowly paced back into the dark section of the room, and moments later returned with a small device in his hand. "The conversation between your team and Officer Ronas was recorded on this device. Would you care to listen?"

Rodney turned his head slightly and refused to answer.

Kolya seemed to take that as a yes, and pressed a button on the device. Major Sheppard's voice came through loud and clear.

_"Look, I'm not denying that he killed the guy, I'm just asking that you allow us to take him back with us to Atlantis and deal with it there."_

"How can we be sure you will deal with it once you are away from our supervision? I do not believe you understand the seriousness of this crime, Major."

"No, I do. I do understand, I just..." He sighed. "Okay, we'll go. But just promise me one thing."

"What is that?"

"Treat him fairly. And... tell him we said goodbye."

Kolya snapped the device off and folded his hands behind his back again. "Straight from his own mouth."

Rodney looked down at the floor as he tried to process this information. Major Sheppard had said he'd go, but he'd said nothing about not coming back. He had probably just pretended to leave willingly so that they wouldn't expect a rescue mission later on. It all made perfect sense... didn't it?

"I know this may be hard for you to accept," Kolya said, "but he did say to tell you goodbye."

"He also told you to treat me fairly," Rodney said. He rattled the chains on his arms. "Do you call this fair?"

Kolya gave him a half-smile that looked more evil than comforting. "He told _Ronas_ to treat you fairly," he said. "Ronas treated you well. I, however... I am not bound by that promise."

Rodney almost passed out in fear as Kolya walked over to the wall and flipped a switch, illuminating the entire room in bright light. All along the far wall were gizmos and gadgets that Rodney could only assume were instruments of torture.

"Shall we begin?"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Do we even know where this prison is?"

"No, we don't, Lieutenant," John replied. "That would be why we're taking the jumper, so we can scout the city and decide on a plan of action from there."

He lowered the jumper into place before the Stargate as he spoke. After a quick glance behind him to make sure the five passengers in the back were ready to go, he said, "Dial the gate, Lieutenant."

Ford started entering the symbols, but before the gate activated, Dr. Weir's voice came through the radio.

"Bring him home, Major."

"Will do," John said.

"Be careful," she added.

"As always." He nodded to Ford as the gate sprang to life, and activated the cloak. "Here we go."

He was only a little surprised that there was no one guarding the gate when the jumper passed through. He wasn't so arrogant to assume that their arrival had gone completely undetected, though. These people seemed to be more advanced than he'd originally thought, so he figured they would probably have some kind of surveillance technology watching the gate at all times. They were cloaked, however, so he hoped that meant they would have a little while to do what they came to do before they were found out.

They flew right over the town, scanning it closely for anything resembling a prison. After the second pass showed up nothing, Ford looked over at John and said, "Think we should pull over and ask for directions?"

John shot him a dark look. "Funny. Keep looking."

Teyla came up behind them then, leaving Bates and his team to themselves. "Could that not be the prison?" she asked, pointing to a large building off in the distance.

"It looks like a school to me," Ford said.

John gave him another look. "It has barbed wire fencing around it."

Ford shrugged. "Exactly."

John rolled his eyes. "Let's take a closer look," he said, instructing the jumper to head straight for it.

As they drew closer, it became more and more apparent that this was, indeed, the prison. There were guards at all visible entrances, for one thing, and high fencing all around it. Much to John's joy, however, it did appear to have one weakness - there was a large square of open land in the middle of the complex, where it seemed that various of the prisoners were out for some fresh air. They could easily fly the puddle jumper in there without detection.

"Hang on, Rodney," he muttered under his breath. "We're almost there." He looked over his shoulder and called, "Bates?"

Bates stood up from his spot on the floor and came up behind him. "Do you have a plan?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," John said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "I'm gonna fly the jumper right in there, land it somewhere out of the way, and... well, to be honest, that's all I've got for now."

He could almost feel Bates' look of disapproval boring into the back of his neck. "How are we going to get inside without being made?"

Good question. "Well... there are prisoners hanging around outside. Maybe we can pick one or two of them off, switch clothes with them, and walk right in without anyone being the wiser."

"I think you've been watching too many movies, Major."

John tilted his head to the side as he considered this, but as Bates didn't actually protest against the plan, he figured he didn't really need to argue the point. "Okay, here goes," he said. "Everybody cross your fingers."

Hopefully, plan A would work for once, cause he sure as hell didn't have a plan B.

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Aiden dashed out of the hidden jumper and found cover behind a nearby pillar. Major Sheppard and Sergeant Bates were close behind, and soon all three men were surveying the area with their weapons ready.

"Okay, this should be a snap," Major Sheppard whispered once he had double checked with his life signs detector and determined the coast was clear. He pointed to the left. "The doors leading into the complex are right over there, so as soon as the prisoners are done with their daily constitutional, they'll probably file right past us."

"Probably?" Bates said.

Aiden shot him a glare over his shoulder and then turned his attention back to his commanding officer. "We only have two Wraith stunners, Sir," he said. He didn't actually say what was really on his mind - that he didn't trust Bates not to kill anyone with his P-90 - but Major Sheppard seemed to get the point.

"Lieutenant, you and me are gonna pick three prisoners out of the crowd, preferably stragglers that nobody's got their eye on, and knock 'em out. Bates, I need you to make sure nobody catches us. Got it?"

Aiden and Bates both nodded.

"Good. At the same time, though, keep an eye out for Rodney. I doubt he'd be out here so soon, but you never know. This operation might just turn out to be easier than we thought."

Boy, was he wrong.

It all seemed to be going so well at first - they only had to wait five minutes before a bell rang and the prisoners on the other side of the compound started gathering into four long lines. As the prisoners filed past them on their way back inside, Aiden and Sheppard took out the three at the back, dragging them behind the pillars and quickly stripping them of their baggy shirts and pants.

They changed into the prisoners' clothes in record time, and hurried into the line-up before anyone even noticed the other men's absence. They kept their weapons concealed under their shirts, but nobody was looking closely enough to see them anyway. Everything seemed to be coming together perfectly, and before they knew it, they were on the inside. Piece of cake.

The part that fell flat on its face was actually finding Dr. McKay.

As they entered the complex, Aiden kept his eye on Major Sheppard for his signal. It wasn't long before he saw it - a quickly raised fist making a chopping motion - and as soon as he did, he broke away from the group and started setting up charges in the hallway. That was always his favourite part of any given mission - when he got to blow something up. It never failed to give him a tingly feeling up and down his spine, and the adrenaline rush was what he lived for.

Once the charges were set, Aiden crouched down in a dark corner and waited for Major Sheppard's next signal. The second he heard the low whistle, he covered his head and detonated the charges.

Everything happened quickly after that. In the chaos and panic the sudden explosion caused, he and Sgt. Bates were able to grab two of the guards and hold them as hostages while forcing the other guards to lock themselves and the prisoners away. Warning alarms started to sound, but Sheppard forced one of the guards to shut it off and keep that section of the prison locked to anyone that might be coming to help.

"Where is Rodney McKay?" Sheppard demanded as he grabbed the guard by his collar and pointed his own weapon at his chest.

"I have no idea who that is," the man replied.

Aiden winced as Major Sheppard struck the guy hard across the face, sending him stumbling against the wall. "This is the wrong day to piss me off," he warned, pressing his gun against the guard's temple. "Where is Rodney McKay?"

"I do not know that name!"

"The guy who was put on trial for murder a few hours ago," Sheppard said, his voice getting louder with each word. "He was tried and convicted in a matter of minutes, and now I'm here to bust him out. If you don't want to tell me where he is, though, that's fine... I'll just kill you and the rest of the guards so I'm free to explore the place myself."

"But he is not here!" the man cried. "He was sent away!"

Aiden glanced over at Bates and returned his confused expression. Away? What the hell did that mean?

Sheppard glowered at the guy. "Sent away where?"

"I do not know... Jassin Tiya's home world."

"I thought Jassin Tiya was from _this_ world?" Aiden spoke up, tightening his hold on his hostage so he wouldn't get any ideas about his captor being distracted.

"So did I," Sheppard agreed, never taking his eyes off of the guard in front of him for an instant. "What world is he from?"

"I do not know," the guard said. "Honestly, that is all I know. Please... you must let us go, or the prisoners will riot!"

Sheppard stared at him for a few more seconds, but then released him. "Let's get out of here," he said to Aiden and Bates. "Bring those guys with you until we get to the jumper, just to be on the safe side."

"We're really going to take his word for this?" Aiden asked in disbelief. After all that Major Sheppard had said about never leaving a man behind, leaving without him now just wasn't sitting right with him.

"What choice do we have, Lieutenant?" Sheppard snapped. "You feel like searching every inch of this prison from top to bottom?"

Aiden shook his head regretfully. "No, Sir."

"We should at least see if we can find out more information about this Jassin Tiya person," Bates said. "If he really is from another planet, someone must know the Stargate address."

"Right, so that's the plan," Sheppard said. He looked closely at the guy Aiden still held in a chokehold and inched towards him slowly. "I don't suppose you know anything about where Jassin Tiya came from, do you?"

Aiden gave the guy's neck a rough squeeze as added incentive for him to tell the truth. The guard shook his head as best he could and croaked, "No."

Sheppard nodded and turned to the guy Bates was holding onto. "What about you?"

Aiden couldn't help but notice that for a prison guard, this guy seemed a bit too nervous when asked a simple question.

Major Sheppard seemed to pick up on this, too. "What do you know?" he demanded.

The man shook his head. "I... I don't..."

Sheppard nodded at Bates. "We're taking him back to Atlantis," he said. "Let's go."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Rodney didn't even have the energy to cry out as he was unceremoniously dumped back into his cell. He felt drained of everything, more dead than alive. He couldn't believe what Kolya had put him through over the past few hours.

Actually, he _could_ believe it. Maybe that was exactly why it had been so frightening - he knew that Kolya didn't have much of a moral code holding him back from doing whatever the hell he wanted to.

And that's basically what this little session had been about, Rodney realized - Kolya had wanted to see Rodney in pain, so he'd made it happen. He didn't want any kind of information from him. Sure, he'd asked him the standard, "What is the code you use to lower the shield on the Atlantis Stargate?" and, "How much do you know about such-and-such a thing?" kind of questions, but he knew that Rodney wouldn't actually give him the answers. What did Rodney have to lose or gain if he did or didn't? It wasn't like Kolya was going to let him go if he told him what he wanted to know, so why should he endanger the lives of the people who were probably on their way to save him as they spoke? No, there was more to it than that. Kolya didn't want information - he wanted revenge.

It seemed a bit absurd to Rodney that he would try to exact his revenge on him, though. What had he ever done to the guy? He'd _helped_ him, for God's sake. Still, to Kolya's sick, twisted little mind, it seemed that Rodney was the reason why his plan to take the city had failed. Rodney was paying for that now, that's for sure.

After lying there for a few minutes, he took a deep breath and hauled himself up onto his hands and knees. It took more effort to crawl across the floor and slump against the wall than he could ever have imagined, and by the time he'd done it he was completely out of breath.

He gave himself a couple of minutes to collect himself, and then he started examining his body for injuries. The first thing that demanded his attention was the fact that his wrists were raw and bleeding from the restraints. He didn't have any spare material to use as bandages for them, so all he could do was massage them a little to try to make them feel better. It didn't really work.

Next he lifted his shirt to check out the damage that had been done there. The light coming through his one window was dim at best, but he could still see the massive bruises covering his abdomen and chest, and the various red welts left behind by whatever Kolya had used to give him the electric shocks he seemed to be so fond of.

In short, his body was a mess.

Rodney sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. He felt as though he should be reacting more strongly to this, but he just felt... blank. He figured that was probably an after-effect of the shocks, and that it would hit him later. He wasn't looking forward to that.

Not that he expected to still be here later. Major Sheppard would probably have found him by then, and he'd be safe and warm in an infirmary bed by the time he had to deal with the horror of what he'd just been through. No matter how many times Kolya had told him that no one was coming to rescue him, Rodney didn't believe it for a second. His friends would come, and Kolya would be the first to die when they got here.

He sat there almost in a daze for a long time, until the cell was in pitch darkness again and the cold night air was starting to seep through his clothes and chill his skin. A strange sound finally brought him back to reality, one he hadn't heard before. It sounded like something was scraping the wall beside him. He looked down just in time to see part of the wall open up and a dim light shine through it.

The moving panel flattened out into a sort of makeshift table, and a small tray was pushed out of the wall onto it. On the tray was a small bowl of some kind of greyish substance, as well as a small metal cup of water.

Mealtime, if you could call it that.

As much as he dreaded sampling this poor excuse for food, he was grateful for the little bit of light that came with it. He examined the opening for a minute or two, but decided that it was much too small to even attempt any kind of escape through it. It was nothing more than a food slot.

With a sigh and a hard swallow, Rodney steeled himself and scooped a bit of the grey stuff onto his finger. He closed his eyes and stuck it into his mouth, knowing that if this was likely to be his only meal for a while, he had to eat it or suffer the consequences. He made a slight face at the bitter taste, but decided it was better than nothing, so forced himself to continue eating it.

He tried to lift the bowl off the tray as he ate, but it seemed to be fastened in place. When he went to take a drink of water, he found that it was fastened to the tray, too, but on a short string so that he could lift it just enough to take a draught of the liquid inside.

"What, do you think I'm gonna steal it?" he muttered. "How far could I go?"

As though it were giving him his answer, the wall panel suddenly shuddered, causing Rodney to back away from it in surprise. Then he heard the scraping sound again, and the tray withdrew, the panel closing up after it. Rodney's cell was bathed in complete darkness again.

"Well, that was a pleasant little interlude," Rodney mumbled. "I don't suppose a blanket will suddenly appear somewhere?" He looked around for any sign of light or any sound that might indicate that another panel was opening up somewhere, but nothing happened.

"Damn." He'd just have to do without, then.

He eased himself down onto the hard floor, careful not to lie on any of his biggest bruises, and tried to get comfortable. Finding that a lost cause, he just settled for a position that wasn't outright painful.

"I really hope you're on your way, Major," he whispered into the darkness as he started to drift off to sleep. A person could only live like this for so long before insanity started to set in, and Rodney was sure that for him it wouldn't take long at all.

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Elizabeth paced her office restlessly, her hands on her hips and her gaze fixed on the floor. She'd just received yet another report that their prisoner was refusing to cooperate. Two days and all he'd said was that he wasn't going to say anything. Why couldn't people ever just be _helpful_?

She sighed and leaned her hands on her desk. She kept trying to keep her mind off of Rodney, but considering that he was the one everyone was trying to save, it was pretty much impossible. Every time she thought about him abandoned and alone in an alien prison it made her want to throw up. She couldn't believe it had gone on this long, and there was still no end in sight.

Their relationship with the Decarians had turned sour over all of this, but she had ceased to care. Anyone who would take one of her people and just throw him to the wolves like this didn't deserve their friendship.

Thinking closely about the situation brought images of the time she and Rodney had spent with Kolya a few weeks previously to her mind. Rodney hadn't crumbled under Kolya's intimidations, but she could tell that he'd almost reached his breaking point by the end of the ordeal. How much worse was he being treated now? She couldn't even begin to imagine.

She shrugged her shoulders in a wide circular motion, trying to work out the kinks as she started pacing again. She felt as though she, of all people, understood what he must be feeling the clearest. She knew Rodney better than anyone else in this city, for one thing, and she was also a civilian just like him. The military types would have been trained and prepared for situations like this, but Rodney? She kept trying to put herself in his shoes, and all she could see was fear and abandonment.

They needed to find him before they both went completely insane.

"Dr. Weir?"

Elizabeth turned to face Major Sheppard, who was standing tentatively at the door to her office with his hand raised as though to knock.

"Come in, Major," she said, heading behind her desk to sit down. "How is our prisoner doing this morning?"

"Just as stubborn as ever," Major Sheppard said. He looked and sounded about as exhausted as Elizabeth felt as he eased himself down into the other chair. "I don't think he's gonna talk anytime soon."

Elizabeth sighed and rubbed her face wearily. "What do you think it would take?" she asked.

John narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... what do you think it would take to... break him?" God, how she hated saying those words.

John leaned forward in his chair to get a closer look at her face. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm saying that we need the information this man has to offer," Elizabeth said. "Am I right?"

"Yes, but..."

"And you must know ways of making people divulge information that they are trying to hide."

"I really don't think you'd approve of any of those ways, Elizabeth," John said quietly.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm giving you permission to do whatever it takes."

There was silence for a long moment as they just sat there staring at each other. John seemed to be trying to find a hint of insecurity in her, and Elizabeth was trying as hard as she could not to show any. They needed to find Rodney, and Elizabeth wasn't about to let this man get away with holding back the information they needed to complete that objective. As much as she believed in human rights for everyone, she was getting tired of the run around.

Obviously, this was unexpected.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"We have to get Rodney out of whatever hell hole he's been thrown into," she said, amazing herself with how cool and calm she was sounding. "We've given that man every opportunity to help us and be set free, and he has refused. It's time to show him we mean business." She paused for a moment, and then repeated, "You have permission to do whatever you feel is necessary."

He stared at her for a second or two longer, and then he shook his head and got to his feet. Without another word, he strode out of her office and headed in the direction of the brig.

Elizabeth covered her face in her hands as she tried to hold her emotions in check. This wasn't the time to lose it - not yet. Not until Rodney was home and everything was alright again.

Unfortunately, as the hours passed and she still hadn't heard anything more from Major Sheppard, it seemed that Rodney wasn't going to get home anytime soon.

She hated that there were trivial, everyday things that she had to see to in the meantime. Atlantis seemed so empty without Rodney McKay, so it seemed as though everything should come to a complete stop until he returned. Yet everything had to carry on as normal. It was endlessly frustrating.

More than once since he'd been gone, Elizabeth had found herself just itching to talk to him about whatever was going on, and his absence would hit her hard when she would realize that it wasn't possible. She wished she'd known before this had happened just how much she was coming to rely on his friendship and how much she enjoyed the playful banter they always had between them.

She was about ready to tear her hair out for missing him.

It was getting late by the time Major Sheppard appeared again. He looked haggard and worn, like he'd been on the go all day without food or rest. Elizabeth figured that this was probably the case.

"How did it go, Major?" she asked as he wandered into her office and plopped down onto a chair.

He leaned his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands. "I think I got just about everything out of him that I'm gonna get," he said.

Elizabeth's heart sank. From his body language she could tell two things without him even having to say it - one, that he'd had to resort to some pretty extreme measures to get the man to talk, and two, that whatever the man had told him wasn't what they'd hoped it would be. "What did he say?" she asked quietly. She didn't even bother asking what he'd done to the man. She knew he wouldn't want to talk about it.

John straightened up in his chair, dropping his hands into his lap. "Nothing overly helpful," he said. "He did, however, tell me why this whole thing happened."

Elizabeth's ears perked up at this. "Oh?"

"Apparently, those people are way more technologically advanced than they appear. Remind you of anyone?"

"The Genii."

"Exactly. Something he said made it sound as though the Genii had a hand in it all. Not that they were the masterminds behind it, mind you. That would be the Decarians themselves, the sneaky bastards."

Elizabeth held her hand up to silence him for a moment as she caught up with what he was saying. "He said the Genii are involved in this?" she said. "That's... actually, that doesn't surprise me at all."

"No, it didn't really surprise me, either," John said. "What did surprise me was the fact that it was people who didn't have a clue who we even were who set this whole mess up."

"What do you mean?"

"That Mackush guy," John drawled. "He didn't know who we were, just saw that a bunch of strangers had entered the town and one of them was hanging around Jassin Tiya's booth. He wanted the power conversion device that Tiya was selling, but Tiya refused to sell to any kind of government official or anyone he knew to be working for one."

"So he wanted Tiya out of the picture," Elizabeth said.

John rolled his eyes and nodded. "And he figured Rodney would be the perfect fall guy," he said. "Rodney hadn't exaggerated about all those people crowding around him, holding him in place for a few minutes. Apparently, Mackush signalled them through radios of some kind, telling them to stall him for a while. It sounds as though that place is just teeming with Mackush's undercover agents, who do whatever he says without question. As soon as Rodney was out of sight, he got one of his guys to sneak into Tiya's tent and tamper with the device."

"That doesn't make any sense, though," Elizabeth interrupted. "Why would he destroy the device when he wanted it so badly?"

"Ahh, yeah, that's what I said," John said with a lopsided smile. "It wasn't the actual device he was after. It was the blueprints."

"I take it those fell into the hands of the government after Tiya was murdered?"

"Exactly. The whole place was considered a crime scene - the perfect opportunity for someone working for Mackush to steal the blueprints without anyone even knowing."

Elizabeth took a deep breath as she allowed this information to sink in. "So... where do the Genii come in?" she asked. "It sounds as though it was all the Decarians' doing."

"Well, from what I could gather, it seems as though the Genii just happened across a good thing," John said in a dry, almost angry tone. "Whether they took him back to their world or just followed him to wherever the Decarians sent him, I don't know, but I get the impression that they plan on having some 'fun' with him... if they haven't already."

Elizabeth's blood seemed to freeze in her veins when she heard these words. "You mean, you think they'll..." She couldn't even finish the sentence.

"I'm willing to bet that they already have," John said, suddenly seeming very restless and jittery. "With your permission, I'd like to take a jumper to the Genii homeworld, and see if we can figure out what they've done with him."

Elizabeth thought this over for a moment, but her decision was soon made. "No."

"Excuse me?"

"That's enemy territory, Major. I'm afraid I can't authorize sending people into what is essentially a war zone until we know for sure that Rodney is there."

"But if he's there, we're wasting time that could mean the difference between life or death!"

"I realize that, Major," Elizabeth said, feeling her voice shaking with emotion and not really caring. "Believe me, it's killing me to say no, but I really don't see that we have any other choice. The Genii have made it quite clear that we are no longer welcome on their world, and that they would rather kill us than give us the time of day. If Rodney isn't on that planet... I'm sorry, but I just can't risk people's lives when we don't know one way or another."

"Can we at least go back to Decaria and see if we can find any more information there?" John asked, obviously keeping himself under control with great effort.

"Yes, of course," Elizabeth said. "Though I... think it would be best if you didn't go yourself."

He didn't say a word, but his glare was enough to get his point across. He was about ready to blow.

"You would be sure to be recognized, Major," she said, trying to keep her voice level this time. "Assemble a team that could go undercover somehow and... blend in."

His glare didn't soften in the slightest, but he gave a short nod. "Right. I'm not exactly the 'blending in' type, after all."

Elizabeth looked down at her hands as Major Sheppard got up and marched out of her office. It was breaking her heart to refuse a rescue mission to the Genii's planet, yet at the same time, part of her felt as though searching their world would prove futile anyway. She also felt terrible that she'd had to restrict Major Sheppard from going back to Decaria, but she really did believe it would jeopardize the entire mission if he were to go.

She sighed heavily and rubbed her tired eyes. Despite their many setbacks, she was determined not to lose hope just yet. Rodney was out there somewhere... she could feel it. They just had to figure out where.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Teyla adjusted her hat to make sure it was covering her face sufficiently before she stepped through the Stargate. She was not convinced that this disguise would prevent the Decarians from recognizing her, but they had few choices remaining. Dr. McKay had been missing for five days now. If they did not find him soon, it would be too late.

Once on Decaria, she glanced behind her to make sure the rest of her team had made it through safely. She had been disappointed when she was told that Major Sheppard and Lt. Ford would not be accompanying her, but she knew that it was wise for them to remain behind. It was a risk for her to return to this world even while disguised, let alone for all of them to return together. They were sure to be recognized if they were together, but they were hoping that if only one of them returned with people who had never been seen by the Decarians, they would get away with pretending to be ordinary traders from one of the worlds in the confederation.

It was a risk, but one that Teyla was willing to take if it meant finding Dr. McKay.

Not a word passed between the members of her new team as they started on their way to the town. Teyla kept a sharp eye out for anyone who might be watching them, but she saw nothing unusual. She knew now, however, that this might not mean that no one was there.

It seemed strange to her that everything looked just the same when they reached the marketplace. Aside from the new tent that had been erected in place of Jassin Tiya's, of course. It just seemed odd that no one was acting any differently after what had happened just a few days earlier. It was almost as if no one even cared that one of their fellow merchants had been murdered. They had simply covered the ashes that had been left behind and moved on.

"This won't make our search any easier, will it?" Lt. Ashford said, leaning in close to speak directly into Teyla's ear.

Teyla shook her head. "There was most likely nothing we could have gained from searching the ruins of Jassin Tiya's booth," she said. "We must mingle amongst the townspeople and try to glean information without drawing attention to ourselves."

Lt. Ashford gave her a look that said, 'Easier said than done.' Teyla knew he was right. It would be very difficult to get the information they needed without actually asking the questions outright.

Difficult, but not impossible.

"We will start with the place where tongues tend to be loosened," she said with a sly look on her face.

Lt. Ashford looked puzzled.

Teyla smiled. "The alehouse, Lt. Ashford," she said. "You will find that every planet has its vices. Where there is vice, there is weakness, and where there is weakness, there are answers to our questions."

She did not bother to clarify this statement as she turned and started walking in the direction of the alehouse. She walked with confidence, knowing that the others were following her without question, and that this was the right course of action to take. They may not receive the answers right away, but someone who knew what had happened to Dr. McKay was bound to stop in for a drink at some point.

When they did, she would be waiting.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

John jogged down the steps to meet Lt. Ashford as he came through the gate.

"You did take the scenic route, right?" he asked before the wormhole had even disengaged.

"Yes, Sir," Ashford replied. "Anybody who may have seen me input the address would think I gated to M5S-249."

"Good job," John said. "Have you found anything yet?"

Ashford looked beyond John to the stairs, where John could hear someone coming down them to stand behind him. He knew without looking that it was Dr. Weir, so he just stood there waiting impatiently for Ashford's answer.

"Not yet, Sir," Ashford finally said. "Teyla took us to the local 'alehouse' yesterday, and we tried poking around there to see if anyone knew anything. No such luck. After a few hours, we called it a night and rented rooms upstairs."

"The alehouse... that was a good idea," Dr. Weir said. "People are more likely to give information willingly when they're drinking."

"No kidding," John muttered. "That's how Kolya figured out a way onto Atlantis."

"That's exactly what Teyla said, Sir," Ashford agreed. "She seems to think that if we hang around there long enough, we'll get what we need eventually."

John sighed. "Not that I like the idea of 'eventually,'" he said, "but it's better than nothing. Tell her to keep her eyes open."

"Yes, Sir."

John turned and started to wander off, not really knowing where he was heading but just wanting to get as far away from the temptation of heading through the gate to help Teyla out as possible.

"Wait a couple of hours, and you can head back to Decaria," he heard Dr. Weir say to Ashford. Then he heard her rapid footsteps heading his way.

"Major Sheppard?"

He was already halfway up the steps by the time she called his name, so he only slowed down as he kept on climbing. "Yeah?"

"Could I have a word with you in my office, please?"

John could feel his entire body stiffen at the words, but he tried to seem calm and casual as he said, "Sure," and started in that direction. Inside, though, he was feeling anything but calm. Ever since she'd denied him permission to lead the team heading back to Decaria, he'd been avoiding her as much as possible. Even though he understood her reasoning behind it, he'd been so angry over it that he hadn't trusted himself not to do or say something he would later regret.

A few days had passed since then, however, so he was hopeful that he could keep himself under control.

Maybe.

"Have a seat, Major," she said once they entered her office.

John watched her with a wary eye as he eased himself down into a chair. She leaned back against the edge of her desk and folded her arms in front of her, meeting his gaze with a firm look on her face.

That did not bode well.

After a few moments, her expression softened, and she said quietly, "How are you doing?"

John was puzzled by her sudden change of attitude, but he didn't let it shake him. "As well as can be expected," he said. Truthful, yet vague. Perfect.

She looked down for a second, and when she looked up at him again, her expression had changed yet again to one of extreme seriousness. "Look... John," she said, "I know it's hard for you to just sit here doing nothing while the others are out there... but it seems as though you've been angry with me over my decision, and that has to stop right here, right now."

John nodded slowly. He knew she was right, but dammit, he needed to be _doing_ something. "I know," he said with a sigh. "I just feel like you've left me hanging here, you know? What happened to Rodney was my fault, and part of me feels as though you're holding that against me and keeping me off the team so I don't screw things up even more."

There was silence in the room as Dr. Weir's jaw dropped and John's clamped shut. He hadn't realized until he'd said it, but that was exactly how he was feeling - that Dr. Weir's decision to keep him there on the base was based entirely on the fact that he'd messed up and Rodney had gone missing because of it. He could see how close Weir and McKay had become over the past weeks, and while she never showed him any favouritism, her emotions were bound to be calling some of the shots in this situation.

"Excuse me?" she said, finally regaining her voice.

John swallowed hard, knowing he was walking on thin ice. How to word it so he didn't offend her further... "I feel as though you don't trust me after all of this." He winced and watched her through narrowed eyes for her reaction.

Dr. Weir gave a very unamused laugh. "Wh... I don't blame you for any of this," she said in a tone of disbelief. "I told you my reasons for keeping you off the team, Major. It would have been too risky to send you in there when so many people know what you look like."

"Yet you sent Teyla in there with no problems."

"We had to send someone who knew the area and knew the people, and Teyla was easily disguisable."

"Yeah, I know," John said, feeling his temper flaring and not doing a thing to hold it back. "I guess I've just got one of those faces that people can recognize a mile away. Or maybe you just think I'm so volatile that sending me out there would result in casualties that you'd feel responsible for. After all, the only assignments you've given me through the whole search and rescue effort were busting into a prison and torturing that guard half to death."

He regretted the words as soon as he'd said them, especially when he saw the stricken look on her face. They hadn't talked about what he'd done to that guard, and he'd intended to keep it that way. Not only for her benefit, either. It made him feel sick every time he thought about it, so he much preferred to just lock it away in the back of his mind and forget the whole thing.

After a few moments passed in silence, Dr. Weir took a deep breath and said, "I went to see him earlier today." She paused for effect, and then continued, "He seems much better. I'm planning on releasing him as soon as we find Rodney."

"Sounds like a good idea," John said, trying not to sound as self-conscious as he felt.

Dr. Weir uncrossed her arms and gripped the edge of the desk behind her, leaning forward slightly to show she meant business as she spoke. "For the record... I do trust you, and I didn't consider you too volatile to send on that mission. You just have to understand here that Rodney is a very dear friend of mine, and it is literally painful for me to have to make decisions that, if they are the wrong ones, might mean we'll never get him back. I am very sorry that I asked you to... to do what I asked you to do... but believe me, Major, that wasn't the extent of what I'll be asking of you. As soon as we get word of where they are keeping Rodney, I need you to lead the team that will bring him home. Can you do that?"

John nodded. "Of course I can."

"Good." She stood up and walked around her desk to sit down in her chair. "Now, please get the hell out of my office," she said, the words harsh but her voice sounding drained.

John knew he'd upset her, but hadn't a clue how to go about healing the wounds he'd caused. At least, not yet.

Without another word, he stood up and left her office, making his way to the infirmary to have a chat with Beckett. Rodney had been missing for six days now, so if and when they found out where he was, he wanted Beckett on the team that would be going in to rescue him. They probably wouldn't have much time to waste.

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Rodney was dragged out of a fitful sleep by the familiar clanging sound of the doors leading to his cell swinging open before the approaching guards. He shuddered with each one, counting down until...

_Thump. Creak._

He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, intending to stand before the guards entered and yanked him to his feet, but his muscles were sore and cramped from lying on the cold floor all night and refused to comply.

All he could do then was brace himself.

As soon as the guards burst into the cell, the one with the gruff voice marched straight over to him and took advantage of Rodney's vulnerable position to deliver a swift kick to his stomach. Rodney grunted and toppled over against the wall.

"On your feet," the gruff voice commanded.

Rodney knew better than to fight as they grabbed his arms and forced him to stand. He didn't say a word as he was escorted out of the room and through the same hallways as before.

This would make the fourth time they'd been through this routine, but it seemed as though Rodney had been in this place for years rather than days. He honestly wasn't sure how much time had really passed, as he knew it wasn't every day that Kolya came to play with him, and the rest of the time he tended to drift in and out of consciousness on the floor of his cell, only fully aware of his surroundings when he heard the scraping sound indicating it was time to eat. He was pretty sure that happened twice a day, but he'd lost track of how many meals he'd eaten now.

Way more than he'd expected to eat there, that was for sure.

As usual, the guards led him right into the torture chamber and clamped the chains around his wrists and ankles. Then they left him alone with Kolya.

"Hello again, Dr. McKay."

"Pleasure's all mine," Rodney said through gritted teeth as Kolya slowly walked towards him.

Kolya cocked his head to one side and studied Rodney closely. "Are you still going to fight me, Dr. McKay?" he asked. "You must realize by now that it gets you nowhere."

"I could say the same thing to you," Rodney said, even though he knew what the consequences of such a statement would be.

Sure enough, Kolya brought his hand out from behind his back and jabbed at Rodney's side with his beloved electroshock device.

As soon as he'd elicited a cry of pain from Rodney, Kolya dropped his hand to his side again and began to pace around him. "You were wrong, Dr. McKay. The pleasure is all mine." He stopped in front of him and stood there with a smug look on his face, watching Rodney squirm. "I have to travel a long way for these little visits, but it is well worth the trouble."

Rodney didn't even bother responding to that. He'd known Kolya's motives all along. There was nothing the bastard could say that would surprise him.

"Oh, before I forget to tell you, I have wonderful news regarding your precious Atlantis. They have finally reached an agreement with Mackush and have joined the Confederation."

Okay, except that.

"Bull. Atlantis would never align themselves with the likes of you after what you've done to me."

Kolya smiled in that creepy way of his. "Actually... that was part of the reason why it took so long for them to reach this agreement," he said. "But they have agreed not to contest your sentence so that they might gain access to the technologies and supplies the Confederation has at its disposal."

Rodney watched Kolya closely as he spoke, hoping for any sign that the man might be lying, but to his horror he actually appeared to be telling the truth.

_'Just another scare tactic... just another scare tactic...'_

He tried so hard to believe it wasn't true, that his friends would never abandon him, but that smug face staring back at him was starting to wipe all hope from his mind.

"Are you alright, Dr. McKay?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. Yeah, like he really cared. "Just get it over with, will you?" he whispered. All he wanted was to be taken back to his stinky little cell to sleep away the rest of his imprisonment.

"As you wish," Kolya said all too eagerly.

Rodney's mind went blank as he felt another jolt of electricity shoot through his body. He just did what was becoming a habit when things became too much for him to handle - envisioned Elizabeth's face in his mind's eye and clung to the smiling image for dear life.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Elizabeth was very close to just calling it quits.

Every minute her people spent on that planet was causing her enough stress to create an ulcer, and they had been there for almost four days now. It seemed as though Teyla's idea of hanging around the town's alehouse wasn't such a good one after all. They'd learned nothing thus far that could help them find Rodney.

It didn't help that their prisoner was starting to get antsy. He knew they weren't going to kill him, and he was making demands that they release him. He seemed to think that his people would be sending an army or something to rescue him, but Elizabeth knew better. They received reports from Teyla and her team every day, and there had been no sign that the Decarians were concerned over the loss of one of their own. It made Elizabeth realize just how heartless and selfish these people were.

And if they were that unfeeling towards one of their own, what would they be doing to Rodney?

With a heavy sigh, she pushed her chair back from her desk and dragged herself onto her feet. She was hungry - very hungry. It suddenly occurred to her as she headed out of her office for the mess hall that she hadn't eaten since the day before. That was not a good thing. She needed to be on her toes now more than ever, so three full meals a day were a must.

She walked through the halls on autopilot, not even pausing for a moment to acknowledge the people she passed. They were all busy doing their thing anyway, so she didn't waste any energy feeling guilty about it. She just really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. To be honest, she didn't trust her voice not to give away the depth of her emotions.

Just as she got to the mess hall, Grodin's voice suddenly came through her earpiece. "Dr. Weir, we have an unscheduled incoming wormhole. I'm reading Teyla's IDC."

"I'm on my way."

That was an understatement. Elizabeth took off at a run for the control room, and got there just in time to see the gate shutting down and Teyla climbing the steps towards her.

"Dr. Weir," Teyla greeted her breathlessly. "I have just spoken with a man who says he is of the Genii. He claims to have accompanied Commander Kolya to Decaria in order for him to have a private meeting with Councillor Mackush. In the man's own words, the meeting is for them 'to discuss the status of the Atlantean.'"

"That bastard!"

Elizabeth felt as though she jumped half a foot into the air at Major Sheppard's sudden outburst. She hadn't even known he'd come to stand beside her. "Kolya's involved in this?" she asked.

"Does that surprise you?" Major Sheppard said dryly. "We knew the Genii had a hand in it, so it stands to reason, don't you think?"

Elizabeth didn't answer. The thought of Kolya being involved had crossed her mind before, but she hadn't wanted to think too closely about it at the time. Now, knowing almost without a doubt that Rodney was in Kolya's hands... it certainly didn't make her feel any better.

"I believe if we hurry, we could cut him off from returning through the Stargate," Teyla said, studying Elizabeth in concern when she just stood there in worried silence. "If we are lucky, perhaps we can find out where he is keeping Dr. McKay."

Elizabeth nodded slowly, and then turned to Major Sheppard. Before she could say a word, however, he quickly spoke up.

"Permission to take a team and go after him."

On any other day, his serious request would have brought a smile to her face, sounding so much like he was talking to a superior military officer. Coming on the heels of their last conversation, though, it just made her realize more than ever how desperate he was to be a part of this search and rescue.

She nodded. "Take Lt. Ford with you," she said. "And wear peasant clothing. I still don't want to take any chances."

"Okay," he said, already moving away from her. "We'll be ready to go in ten minutes tops."

Elizabeth tried not to wring her hands as she waited for Sheppard and Ford to prepare for their mission, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from at least pacing. Suddenly, she didn't care that she was hungry, tired, and anxious. Rodney was in Kolya's hands, so she didn't doubt for a moment that he was in way worse shape than she was. Kolya seemed like the type of man who would exact revenge on someone he felt had wronged him if he ever got the chance. Rodney certainly fit that bill.

True to his word, Major Sheppard jogged back into the control room less than ten minutes later, with Lt. Ford close behind. She gave the nod for Grodin to dial the gate, and moments later she stood up on the balcony and watched Sheppard, Ford, and Teyla disappear into the event horizon.

"Good luck," she whispered before the gate shut down behind them.

They were going to need it.

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

John, Teyla, and Lt. Ford had only been waiting outside Mackush's building for ten minutes before they spied what they had come for - Kolya.

He strolled out of the building and down the street like he didn't have a care in the galaxy. In fact, he looked damn pleased with himself. That just made John ten times angrier than he'd already been.

With a signal for Ford to watch their backs, he and Teyla burst out of their hiding place in the shadows, grabbed Kolya, and dragged him into a nearby alley before his entourage appeared. He didn't even get the chance to cry out, as John threw a hood over his head and drew it tight across his face, cutting off his air and stifling any sound he might have made. He tried to fight them off, but the enforced blackness and lack of oxygen made him falter just enough for them to gain the advantage.

Moving as fast as lightning, John threw Kolya face-first against the side of the building and watched as Teyla yanked his arms behind his back and fastened his wrists together. Then John turned him around and pressed a gun to his chest as he removed the hood. "Hello, Kolya."

Kolya seemed about to cry out in indignation at first, but then he narrowed his eyes at John and all but smiled. "Major Sheppard," he said in that annoying, superior tone. "I did not expect to see you here."

"Likewise. For some reason, though, the fact that we found you hanging around with Mackush doesn't actually surprise me."

Kolya chuckled. "What are you doing, Major? What can you possibly gain from..."

John cut him off with a fist to the face. "I don't have a whole lot of time to waste here, so I'm going to ask you straight out - where is Dr. McKay?"

Kolya worked his jaw from side to side and glared at him. "I have no idea."

"Wrong answer." John lowered his gun to aim it at Kolya's leg. The silencer was attached, so he wasn't afraid to use it if he had to. In fact, he was just waiting for an excuse. "Where is Rodney McKay?"

Kolya smirked. "You are not going to shoot me, Major Sheppard."

"You of all people should know by now that I will." John gestured to Teyla to put the hood back over Kolya's head, and once it was securely in place, he pulled the trigger.

The heavy hood muffled the resulting wail of pain as Kolya fell to the ground, so John waited patiently for him to quiet down before he snatched it off again. "Are you ready to cooperate?"

Kolya's eyes were practically shooting lasers his way they were so full of rage. "You will pay for this, Major Sheppard," he said in a pain-filled voice.

"Oh please, I only shot you in the thigh," John drawled as casually as he could. "Tell me where Dr. McKay is, and I won't do the same to the other one."

Kolya shook his head. "Why does it matter so much to you?" he asked. "Dr. McKay committed a crime for which he must pay. That is all you need to know."

"Don't give me that bull. I know all about the set up, and how you then took advantage of the situation to get your revenge for losing Atlantis. The only thing I _don't_ know is where the hell you're keeping him. And if you don't tell me within the next ten seconds..."

"Then you will shoot me again? Don't be a fool, Major Sheppard. We both know that shooting me will gain you nothing."

"It might give me a sense of satisfaction, at the very least," John said in a low tone.

Kolya smiled. "Yes... that is exactly what I feel every time I hear your Dr. McKay scream in pain. Satisfaction."

John froze for a second or two after these words met his ears. Images of Rodney in pain and dying with Kolya standing over him grinning like a lunatic flooded into his mind and left him seeing red.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he was pounding the smug look off of the bastard's face.

"Major!"

The sound of Teyla's voice pulled him back down to the ground, but didn't stop him from giving Kolya one last kick in the gut. Then he turned to her, panting from the anger and exertion. The horrified look on her face was enough to make him realize what a stupid move that had been. Kolya wouldn't be able to tell them a damn thing if he was unconscious.

Luckily, he wasn't.

"Tell me where he is, you bastard," John demanded between gasps for breath. "Is he on your world? Is he here on Decaria? Where?"

Kolya spat out some blood and squinted up at him through rapidly swelling eyes. "No and no," he said, his voice hoarse and barely more than a whisper. "Where he is, you will never find him."

John just stood there staring down at the son of a bitch for a few moments, trying to calculate what the best course of action would be. He knew they'd never be able to take him back with them through the Stargate, and they wouldn't have long here before they were discovered. There had to be some way that they could get him to talk without it taking forever.

In the meantime, though, it couldn't hurt to see if he had any clues on his person.

"Teyla, search him," he said.

She seemed hesitant to even touch the man at first, but soon she knelt down beside him and started going through his pockets and patting him down for anything he may have concealed. She came away with a couple of devices that John had never even seen before, some papers, and what looked like money.

"Anything interesting?" John asked as Teyla examined the items.

"Yes," she replied, holding up a notebook of some kind. "I believe this may be a listing of all of the planets in the confederation. It also seems to contain information about each one."

"There is nothing in there about your friend," Kolya said.

"Keep your mouth shut unless I ask you a question, alright?" John said.

Kolya just grimaced and looked away.

"Does it have the Stargate addresses listed?"

Teyla nodded. "Commander Kolya seems to be very well organized," she said in a dry tone, with a pointed glance in Kolya's direction.

John stepped closer to Kolya so that he towered over him in what he hoped was an intimidating way. "Is Rodney on one of these planets?"

No answer.

"Which one is it, Kolya?" John demanded. "Don't mess with me, okay? I am a very angry man carrying a gun. That is not a good combination."

"I have already told you, Major Sheppard," Kolya said slowly, "you will never find him. Do what you want with me, but I will not tell you another thing."

John somehow managed to keep his temper under control, and squatted down to come face-to-face with Kolya. "Why?" he said. "Why is it so important to you that McKay pays for this crime that you know he didn't commit? I can understand that you wanted to have some fun with him... maybe feel like you've made up for the fact that he prevented you from taking Atlantis... but why are you willing to die in order to keep him there? You do know that if you die, you won't be able to play with him anymore, right?"

"Do you take me for a fool, Major Sheppard?"

It was all John could do to keep from laughing out loud at this question. "At the moment... yes."

"You are not going to kill me. If you did, you would lose any possible chance of finding your friend, and that is a risk the likes of you would never take."

"Oh, I don't think you're my only chance at finding McKay," John said with a sneer. "There's always Mackush."

"You could never get near Mackush."

"I got near you."

"He is much more protected than I."

"Isn't that a shame?"

"Major!" Ford's voice finally interrupted them. "I think the party's over, Sir. I count six men heading in our direction. I think they're looking for Kolya."

John swore under his breath and jumped to his feet. Aiming his gun at Kolya once more, he demanded, "Tell me where he is."

Kolya just smirked and shook his head.

He wanted to pull that trigger. He wanted the bastard to die, and he wanted to be the one who made it happen. He was a hair away from doing just that when he felt a gentle hand on his arm.

"Let it go, Major," Teyla said. "We have to leave. Now."

"Help! I'm over here!" Kolya cried.

John swung at Kolya with the butt of his weapon, striking him in the temple and knocking him out cold. Even so, it was too late. The sound of voices and rapid footsteps grew louder and louder as Kolya's men ran to his aid.

"Let's get out of here," John whispered, leading the way down the alley and away from the approaching men.

The three of them ran for the Stargate as quickly and stealthily as they could, not even stopping to collect the three members of Teyla's team that they'd left in the alehouse. They could inform them of their find when the men contacted Atlantis the next day, and tell them it was time to come home. Until then, their first priority was getting the hell out of there before the alarms started to sound.

It wasn't until they were safely back on Atlantis that John realized he'd failed yet again.

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Rodney was vaguely aware that more time had passed since Kolya's last visit than usual. This fact had occurred to him when he'd realized that he was actually beginning to recover from his injuries. He hadn't been left alone long enough to do that before.

Still, he wasn't about to question it. He slept away as much time as possible, trying to recover his strength and let himself heal. Of course, that also meant that he didn't have to deal with his current circumstances, which suited him just fine.

Nobody came to his cell at all, not even the guards. The ache of loneliness would settle over him whenever he would think of the way he'd isolated himself willingly all his life, pushing away the people who tried to get close to him. Now his entire world was silent and still, just the way he'd thought he'd always wanted it, except for twice a day when his food and water came. The scraping sound was starting to seem ear-splittingly loud, and that frightened him. What was this isolation doing to him?

In his dreams, though, he had as much company as he knew what to do with. All of his friends back on Atlantis came to visit him while he slept, offering him comfort and encouragement, promising that they'd come for him before Kolya's next visit. These dreams were so vivid and wonderful that he clung to them even when he was awake, believing that the things they'd told him were true. They were coming for him, and they would be here any minute now.

This belief made it all the more devastating the next time he heard those doors clanging open and saw the guards burst into his cell to take him to see Kolya.

They hadn't come in time. Oh God, they hadn't come in time.

He was kicked and slapped and jostled all the way to Kolya's lovely little room, but for some reason they didn't bother to chain him up this time. They simply threw him on the floor and slammed the door shut behind them.

For some reason, Rodney got the feeling that this was not necessarily a good thing.

The room seemed unoccupied except for him, as there was no sound and no movement other than his own breathing. He had just begun to think maybe Kolya was late or something when a form began to emerge from the shadows.

Rodney swallowed convulsively when he was finally able to see Kolya's face. He looked about as bad as Rodney felt, and had a very odd look in his black, swollen eyes. "What... why are you... looking at me like that?" he asked nervously, lifting himself up until he was sitting back on his haunches.

Kolya didn't answer. Before Rodney even had time to blink, the man swung his fist at him, sending him flying against the wall with a crack to his cheekbone.

Something was definitely different this time. Kolya had never used his fists before. He'd never started the rough treatment without speaking first, either. And that look on his face...

Rodney shuddered when he heard Kolya coming at him again. He was helpless to defend himself as Kolya grabbed him, turned him over onto his back, and drove his fist into his stomach.

His breath was knocked out of him by the first hit, but Kolya didn't seem to think once was enough. He pounded his fist into Rodney's gut again and again and again, until everything went completely black and Rodney couldn't even feel it anymore.

By the time his senses returned to him, all was still and quiet again. Rodney assumed he had been dumped back into his cell, as that was how his sessions with Kolya usually ended. He groaned as he rolled over from his side onto his back, but as soon as he'd done it, he realized it had been a mistake.

Kolya was still there. He'd been waiting for Rodney to come around so that he could continue his abuse while Rodney could feel it.

The man was insane. Not that this was news to Rodney, but it suddenly hit him as he watched Kolya limp towards him with some kind of stick in his hands. He was insane, and he was never going to let up. It was never going to be over. He was like a pit bull - once his jaws had latched onto someone, he wouldn't let go until they were dead.

Again, no words were spoken as Kolya approached. That in itself was terrifying. Rodney tried to curl up into a fetal position to ward off the impending attack, but his ribs hurt too much from the beatings he'd already taken. The best he could do was cover his head with his arms and roll back onto his side as the first blow fell.

Kolya's stick caused much more pain and damage than his fist ever could. Thankfully, one well-placed strike knocked Rodney back into the land of unconsciousness, where he remained for what felt like forever.

He awoke to the unmistakable darkness of his little cell, lying face down on the ground with his arm twisted painfully underneath him. After lying that way for a few minutes, he tried to move it out from under him, but his body screamed at him to stay still. After half a dozen failed attempts, he finally worked his arm free and lay there for the next minute or two panting with exhaustion.

This was it. He knew this was the end. Kolya had won.

Rodney didn't even open his eyes a few minutes later when he heard the familiar scraping sound indicating that it was mealtime. Mealtime - yeah, that was a joke. He would have laughed if his broken ribs weren't already pressing painfully against his internal organs.

Instead, he just let reality fade away as Elizabeth appeared at his side to cover him with a warm blanket and soothe him to sleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The team was starting to get a little antsy after they had scouted yet another planet with no sign of Rodney. Well, John was getting antsy. Teyla never got antsy, and Ford... well, Ford seemed mostly aggravated.

Out of the ten planets in this Confederation, John and his team had scouted four, while Bates and his team had scouted three. Seven down, three to go. If Rodney wasn't on any of the remaining three...

John didn't even allow himself to complete that thought. Rodney _was_ on one of those planets. He _had_ to be. There was nowhere else he _could_ be.

"Any luck?" Elizabeth asked as she met them at the Stargate.

"Nope," John replied. "Yet another dead end. On to the next one."

Elizabeth nodded sympathetically. "Are you up to another mission right away, or do you want to wait a while?"

John met her gaze without wavering as he tried to read between the lines of what she was saying. Since their argument a few days earlier, they'd gone from avoiding each other completely to actually being able to talk without snapping at each other again. He didn't want to mess that up by jumping to conclusions about her motives behind the things she said. "I think we can handle one more," he said, knowing Teyla and Ford would wholeheartedly agree. "What's next on the list?"

Elizabeth nodded her approval. "I believe the next planet is the one called Marina," she said.

John tried as hard as he could to resist making a Marines joke, and was about to crack when Teyla spoke up.

"That Stargate is situated on a small, uninhabited island on a planet which is almost completely ocean."

"Sounds familiar," John said.

Teyla inclined her head slightly, as if to tell him that he wasn't getting the point. "The only way to the inhabited islands is by boat," she said.

"Or puddle jumper," John said, with a glance at Elizabeth for permission.

Elizabeth seemed lost in thought for a moment before she turned to Teyla and asked, "Is there anyone on this 'uninhabited' island at all? Do they have some kind of ferry system set up, or a trading post?"

"There are often traders and sailors close-by, yes," Teyla replied.

"Then I think it would be wisest for your team to go through on foot first," she said to John. "Ask around and see if anyone knows anything about Jassin Tiya or Rodney. Taking a jumper through to scan entire islands from the air would probably just turn out to be a waste of time, don't you agree?"

John felt he should argue with this on principle, but found he couldn't. It really did seem like their best option. "I agree," he said, and turned to his teammates. "Are we ready?"

Ford and Teyla nodded. "Ready when you are, Sir," Ford said.

"Good," Elizabeth said. She turned to the control room then, and called, "Dial up the address for Marina."

Peter Grodin nodded and moved to do as he was bidden.

"Good luck, Major," Elizabeth said yet again. "Bring him home."

John adjusted his baggy peasant's clothes as the Stargate came to life. "That's the plan," he said. Then he moved towards the event horizon and gestured for his team to follow him.

Within seconds, they were on Marina.

The planet definitely suited its name - John could see ocean every way he looked, with the occasional speck on the horizon that he guessed were other islands. The land they were currently standing on seemed to be no more than a mile in diameter, and the only structure he could see was a building about half a mile to his right that seemed to be attached to some kind of dock. A large boat was slowly moving away from the shore, and he could see that there were a handful of people who had probably just disembarked from it making their way towards the Stargate.

"Looks like we're just in time," John muttered in the general direction of his teammates. "Let's get down to business."

To be continued...


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

It had only been ten minutes since Major Sheppard's team had left for Marina, so Elizabeth wasn't sure what to expect when the gate started to come to life and Grodin announced an off-world activation. It was likely to either be very good news or very bad.

"I'm reading Sgt. Bates' IDC," Grodin told her moments later.

Elizabeth gave herself a mental shake when she heard this. Of course it was Bates and his team. "Let them through," she said, and then made her way down the steps towards the Stargate.

As soon as Bates cleared the event horizon, he glanced up to see her coming towards him. "I'm afraid we came up empty again, ma'am," he said.

"Not your fault, Sergeant," Elizabeth said, though her disappointment almost drained her of all energy for a moment. "Major Sheppard and his team returned a few minutes ago with the same result. They've just headed off to scout another planet. Will you be doing the same?"

Bates looked over at his teammates before turning back to her and shaking his head. "I think we're all in need of a little rest, if that's alright with you, ma'am," he said. Elizabeth was pleased to note that he sounded rather regretful of the fact.

"Yes, of course," she said. "Take as long as you need."

Even though she'd given them her blessing, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a little put out over the fact that they were giving up when they were so close to finding Rodney.

Not that they were giving up permanently, of course. Any moments lost now seemed like an eternity, though. Kolya was still out there, and if he was with Rodney now after Major Sheppard had done what he'd done... Elizabeth shuddered to think about what he might do.

She wished there were other teams available to scout the planets, but there were so many other things going on that two were all she could spare. Even though they were her two best teams, it was taking longer than she'd hoped to find the right planet.

Elizabeth had only just made it back to her office from the gateroom when she heard the Stargate beginning to activate again. She took off for the control room right away, and got there just in time to hear Grodin announce that he was receiving Major Sheppard's IDC.

This was it. Somehow, part of her already knew what news Major Sheppard would be giving her as soon as he stepped through that gate.

"Dr. Weir! We've found him! Jassin Tiya was from Marina. They have Rodney - the whole planet knows it. We're gonna need that jumper."

"Take Sgt. Bates' team and Dr. Beckett," Elizabeth said without a moment's hesitation. "Go."

It was time to bring Rodney home.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

_'At least this time we have a general idea of where this prison is,'_ John thought to himself as he piloted the jumper past island after island. It would have taken forever if he'd had to check each one of them out as they went along.

He just thanked his lucky stars that the people on this planet actually seemed helpful for a change. So helpful, in fact, that he couldn't even hold Rodney's incarceration against them. He didn't get the feeling from talking to the "boatmaster" that these people had even the slightest clue that Rodney was innocent. All the boatmaster knew was that someone had killed one of his own and had been brought here to live out the rest of his life in their prison.

What the boatmaster also knew, and something that disturbed John greatly, was that Kolya had, indeed, been coming by every few days since Rodney had arrived, and that he was there on the planet that very moment.

Never had John pushed the jumper to go faster than he was right then.

"There it is," Ford said after what seemed like hours.

John nodded. "Alright, sit tight, everybody," he said. "We're coming in for a landing."

He didn't bother to disengage the cloak, but he didn't have any intention of sneaking or fighting his way in this time. If the people of this world really did just want justice served, then maybe they would listen to reason and let Rodney go once they heard the truth.

If not, the jumper would be standing by, ready for battle.

Once they'd landed a short distance away from the prison, John got up out of his seat and said, "Alright, Ford and Teyla, you're with me. Bates, hold down the fort. I'll give you three clicks on the radio if we run into any trouble."

The three of them were about to head out when a certain Scot came up behind him. "Major?"

"Doctor?" John said, trying not to show his impatience.

"I'd like to come with you, if I may," Dr. Beckett said almost too politely. "You said yourself, if Rodney's been beaten..."

John didn't need to hear him finish his sentence. "You're right," he said. "You're coming along. Just keep your mouth shut, okay?"

Beckett nodded, not saying another word. He was obviously taking the command very seriously.

Now that the four of them were ready to go, John led them out of the jumper and towards the prison. The large stone building was situated out in the middle of nowhere, basically, and was one of very few buildings that had been constructed on this little island. Therefore, there weren't exactly crowds of people that they had to get past in order to reach the prison doors. They didn't seem to be expecting visitors.

Before long, they were entering the prison, acting as casual as they could to avoid suspicion. They had all left their P-90's back on the jumper, but weren't stupid enough to come unarmed - even Dr. Beckett had been given a berretta just in case. Still, John really hoped it wouldn't come down to that.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

John forced a smile for the guard standing just inside the doors, attempting to look as unthreatening as possible. "Hey there," he said. "We've just come by to visit a friend of ours. Dr. Rodney McKay. Maybe you've heard of him?"

The man scowled. "Inmates are not allowed visitors," he said. "You must leave."

John sighed and glanced over at Ford. The younger man looked ready to spring into action if required, which made John feel a little better. He turned back to the guard and said, "Oh, I don't think so. You see... our friend shouldn't be here in the first place, and we've come to take him home."

The guy didn't say another word, just reached behind him and pressed a button on the wall.

Suddenly, lights started flashing and an alarm began to sound.

_'Well, so much for listening to reason,'_ John thought as he drew his weapon. He could hear Ford, Beckett, and Teyla doing the same as more guards appeared all around them.

"You know, you really didn't have to do that," John said with a sigh as he found himself in a standoff. "We were all set to arrange our friend's release peacefully and maybe even make friends with your people, but now you've kinda gone and ruined it."

"We cannot allow any of our prisoners to escape," a second guard spoke up. "To aid someone in such an endeavour is breaking the law, and therefore requires strict punishment."

"I didn't come here to help Rodney escape. I came here to ask you to set him free."

This seemed to puzzle the guards. It was obviously one they hadn't heard before.

"Please," Teyla said, putting on her most diplomatic expression, "our friend is innocent. We have proof of this if you will only hear us out."

"What proof?" the first guard demanded.

Teyla slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the devices she'd taken from Kolya a few days earlier. "This device holds a record of every message that has passed between Commander Kolya of the Genii and Councillor Mackush of Decaria over the last few days," she said. "One of these messages makes mention of 'the Atlantean who bears the blame for the murder of Jassin Tiya.' Councillor Mackush is the one who murdered Jassin Tiya, not Rodney McKay. If you would only take a look at these messages, you will see."

John could have kissed her. How could anyone mistrust that voice or feel ill at ease looking at that face?

Not the Marinan guards, thank God. They warily took the device from Teyla's hands and started examining it for themselves.

John tapped his foot restlessly as the men seemed to deliberate over the device forever. He really needed to get to Rodney before Kolya did, and every second that passed made that seem less of a possibility. "Look," he finally said after a couple of minutes had passed, "while you're looking at that thing, could you at least let one of us go and see our friend, just to check if he's alright?"

"I am afraid that is not possible," the first guard said. "Commander Kolya has demanded to see him."

John tried not to rip the guard's heart right out of his chest, he really did. The guy wasn't making it very easy, though. "I don't care _what_ Kolya demanded!" he cried. "Didn't we just tell you that he's in on this whole thing? He should be the one that's locked up somewhere, not Rodney!"

"We must show this information to our supervisor..."

"No, what you must do is take us to our friend _right now_," John demanded. "I'm not messing around here, guys. There's a cloaked ship right outside just waiting for my order to open fire, and let me tell you... if they do start shooting, _every_ prisoner in here will be free. Do you really want that?"

The guards all exchanged nervous looks, seemingly undecided about what to do.

John rolled his eyes and keyed his radio. "Bates, in fifteen seconds, I want you to blast a hole through the west wall of this building," he said.

"Yes, Sir," came the reply.

The guards were now looking downright terrified. "You must not!" the first ones cried. "The men here are dangerous! You do not know..."

"Twelve seconds," John said.

"No! Please! You cannot!"

"Watch me. Nine seconds."

"We will take you to him!" the second guard said.

John exchanged looks with his teammates and then turned back to the guy as casually as he could. "And I also want you to arrest Kolya," he said.

"Yes! Yes, we will arrest him," the man agreed. He snapped his fingers and motioned for two of his fellow guards to go and do just that.

Once the two men had run off into the depths of the prison, John keyed his remote again. "Belay that order, Sergeant," he said. "But standby, just in case." He raised his eyebrow significantly at the guard, and then made a sweeping motion with his hand. "After you."

To be continued...


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Carson couldn't believe the state of this prison. The men they saw in the cells they passed looked as though they hadn't had a bath or a good meal in years, and the stench... he'd been around dead bodies that didn't smell as bad.

It seemed like they'd been walking down these corridors forever, and with every step they took, he was growing more and more anxious over what condition they might find Rodney in. He had a very bad feeling about this.

"His cell is that way," the guard told them, pointing down a narrow hallway leading off from the one they were currently walking down. "It is the section of the prison where we keep those who are in solitary confinement. The doors are open, so that means he is either with Kolya already, or his guards are just fetching him now."

As they approached the open doorway, Carson could hear muffled sounds coming from somewhere nearby. He glanced over at Major Sheppard, and the look on his face told him the major had heard it, too.

"Come on," Major Sheppard said, taking off down the hallway without hesitation.

Lt. Ford, Teyla, and Carson followed him, the sounds growing ever louder as they ran. It was the sound of voices... and laughter.

"Get the hell away from him!" Major Sheppard shouted as he burst into an open cell door at the end of the hallway.

Carson ran in just in time to see the major and Lt. Ford dragging two big, nasty looking guards across the dark, smelly room, knocking them both about the head with their pistols when they kicked up a fuss. However, his attention was soon focused on the body lying facedown on the floor at his feet.

There was no doubt that it was Rodney. The only doubt in Carson's mind was if he was still alive.

He quickly knelt down beside him and felt his neck for a pulse. Feeling nothing, he looked up to see Teyla kneeling down on Rodney's other side, a frightened look on her face. "Help me turn him over," he said, gently taking hold of Rodney's shoulder and the side of his head. He gestured for her to lay her hands on his back and side, and together they turned him over onto his back.

Teyla gasped when she saw Rodney's face, and Carson couldn't blame her. He was about ready to lose his lunch himself at the state his friend was in.

Once again, Carson felt frantically for a pulse, but again found nothing. Without saying a word or wasting a moment, he started CPR, making sure he pumped Rodney's chest as gently as possible when he felt broken ribs under his hands. He was more or less running on autopilot as he lost himself in the counting and breathing and willing Rodney to breathe, just breathe, dammit, _breathe!_

Finally, Rodney took a breath on his own, and Carson was vaguely aware that everyone around him relaxed and clapped each other on the back in relief that he was alright.

Only he wasn't alright.

Just from a very brief examination, Carson could tell that Rodney had been bleeding internally for some time, not to mention the knocks he'd obviously taken on the head. He was in bad shape, and if they didn't get him back to Atlantis as fast as that puddle jumper could go...

"We need to get him out of here," he said, looking gravely up at Major Sheppard. "We'll need to find something we can use as a stretcher."

"I will find something for you," said the man who had led them there. He disappeared a second later as he scurried off.

"How bad is it?" Major Sheppard asked.

Carson shook his head. "It's bad," he said, rising slowly to his feet. "To be honest with you... I think we're too late." His voice caught on the last word and he felt tears sting his eyes as the truth of the matter started to sink in. Rodney was his closest friend, and he was dying right there in front of him. The worst part was, at the moment there was nothing he could do. Not a damned thing.

"Is this what you need?" the guard said as he rushed back into the room carrying what looked like a long board.

"Yes, that'll do," Carson said as he took it from him. "Thank you. Major, I'll need your help here."

Major Sheppard assisted him in getting Rodney situated on the makeshift stretcher and fastened down, and then the major and Lt. Ford lifted it up and carried Rodney out of the cell as quickly as they could.

It was only then that Carson realized the two guards who had been beating on Rodney were no longer in sight. He hoped they'd been taken somewhere and given a taste of their own medicine, but he really didn't have time to think about it for long. His one and only concern now was Rodney, and keeping him alive until they could get back to Atlantis.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

John did not like the look on Dr. Beckett's face.

It was a look that shouted, "I'm helpless to do anything," and that was a bad thing for a doctor to feel regarding a patient. Beckett hadn't spoken since they'd taken Rodney out of the prison and started on their way back to Atlantis, but he didn't really have to. Everyone knew that Rodney was in bad shape.

Very bad shape. The sound he made every time he drew in a ragged breath was making John nauseous. He was afraid to ask what was causing it, but his guess was a punctured lung. Hopefully it sounded worse than it really was.

"Please tell me we're nearly there, Major," Beckett anxiously called over to him.

"I can see the gate now," John said as they approached the gate's island. "Just tell him to hang in there a minute longer."

"I'm doing the best I can."

John tried not to think about the fact that Beckett had started to pump oxygen into Rodney's lungs for him. As soon as they got him back to Atlantis, Beckett would be able to fix him up just as good as new. None of them could afford to doubt that now.

"Lieutenant, dial it up," he said, not even taking his eyes off of his target as they flew straight towards the Stargate.

Ford punched in the address for Atlantis, and the gate sprang to life.

"Teyla, you got the code?" John asked.

He needn't have said a word - Teyla was already sending her IDC through the open wormhole. "Done," she said.

A second or two later, they slipped through the gate and were hurled across the galaxy.

As soon as they saw the Atlantis gateroom through the windshield, John keyed his radio. "Elizabeth, we have Rodney, but he's not doing so good. We need a medical team to meet us in the jumper bay."

"I already have them standing by, Major," Elizabeth's voice returned as the puddle jumper began its ascent. "Well done."

"Thank God," John heard Beckett say under his breath.

He turned around to look at what was going on behind him as the jumper came to rest in the bay and the hatch began to open. "He still with us?" he asked.

"Barely," Beckett answered. As soon as the medics appeared at the hatch, he began barking orders to them, using medical terminology that John couldn't quite follow. It didn't take Sherlock to figure out that Beckett was scared and trying not to waste even a nanosecond in getting Rodney the help he needed.

Suddenly, the hustle and bustle had ended, and John, Ford, and Teyla were left standing there staring at each other in grave acceptance of what might happen.

Bates and his team had quietly left the jumper even before Beckett had, and John was glad of that. He needed this moment alone with his team. He needed to make sure they knew how proud he was of them both. He didn't ever want to have such regret hanging over his head as he'd had through this whole ordeal. His last words to Rodney had been harsh, and if he never got to speak to him again, it would weigh on his conscience for the rest of his life. Somehow, he had to make sure that never happened again.

Unfortunately, his mind had gone completely blank.

"We got him back, Sir."

John couldn't help but smile at Ford's stating-the-obvious comment. It wasn't just stating the obvious, though - there was so much more behind those words that John couldn't even begin to explain. They'd spent the last two weeks doing everything they could to find Rodney. They hadn't failed, no matter what happened to him now.

"Yes, we did," he said with a slight nod. "You both did great. Really great."

He wanted to say more, but he found himself at a loss for words. After a few seconds passed, he forced himself to walk over to the hatch and said, "Let's go fill Dr. Weir in on what happened. I'm sure she'll be pleased to hear that Kolya's doing hard time."

Dr. Weir, however, seemed to be otherwise engaged. John found her in the infirmary, pacing restlessly back and forth as she waited for word on Rodney's condition. He felt it would be best for him to leave her alone for the time being, so he found himself a quiet corner of the infirmary to sit down and wait.

An hour passed with no word from Beckett, and then two. The entire city seemed to be holding its breath, waiting to hear whether or not Rodney was going to live. Ford, Teyla, Zelenka, Grodin, Bates, Stackhouse, and many others kept dropping by to ask how things were going, but John didn't have an answer for them. All he could say was that Dr. Beckett was working hard to save him. That much he knew was the truth.

Finally, three hours after Rodney had returned home, an exhausted Beckett emerged from the operating room. Elizabeth rushed straight over to him, so he was already giving her a report when John came up beside them.

"He's stable for now," he was saying. "I have to be honest, though, Dr. Weir. It doesn't look good. Whatever these people did to him... there's evidence of multiple beatings, and burn marks from some sort of electric shock device. I really can't tell at this point how much damage has been done overall, but my guess is he won't be completely out of the woods for a few days, at least."

John swallowed hard and glanced over at Elizabeth. She had a hand over her mouth and seemed to be struggling to keep herself together. She looked completely worn out and just about at the end of her rope.

He felt more or less the same himself.

"When can we see him?" Elizabeth asked, her voice sounding strained.

"I'd like you to wait a couple of hours, if that's alright," Beckett said apologetically. "I'll let you know when."

Elizabeth nodded. "Thank you."

Beckett gave her a sympathetic look, but Elizabeth had already turned and was walking over to the other side of the room to sit down. He looked over at John then, and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. Then he left the room again, presumably to take up vigil at Rodney's side.

John sighed and went over to join Elizabeth. She was leaning forward in her seat with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. He didn't have a clue what to say to her, so he just sat down next to her and let silence reign for a minute or so.

Finally, he took a deep breath and asked, "Can I get you anything? Coffee...?"

Elizabeth lowered her hands and shook her head. "No, thank you, I'm fine." There was another moment of silence before she continued, "There's one thing you can do, though."

"What's that?"

"The Decarian prisoner," she said. "Now that we have Rodney back, there's no reason for us to still be holding him."

"So, you want me to send him back to Decaria?"

"No," she said, turning to look him in the eye. "I want you to _take_ him back to Decaria. Take a team, take a puddle jumper, whatever you need for protection. Take him back to his own planet, offer our apologies... and make sure the townspeople find out what their leader allowed to happen to an innocent man."

John was a little surprised at the anger behind her words, but he completely understood her reasons behind this request. "Yes, ma'am," he said as he rose to his feet.

He had no intention of letting her down again.

To be continued...


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Elizabeth had been dozing on and off for about an hour before Dr. Beckett finally came to tell her that she could see Rodney.

Dr. Zelenka had just dropped by to see how he was doing, so Elizabeth had offered to let him go in and see Rodney first. Zelenka had graciously declined, saying that he would instead go off and spread the word across the city that Rodney was still hanging in there. So, after taking a deep breath in a feeble attempt at pulling herself together, Elizabeth walked tentatively into Rodney's infirmary room.

Beckett had set him up in a room of his own, as he didn't want Rodney subjected to the human traffic that traipsed through the infirmary all day and night, so Elizabeth was alone with him as soon as she stepped through the door. This was probably a good thing, as any pretense of her supposed 'detachment' crumbled the instant she saw him.

He was a mess. He was mostly covered in a white sheet, but every inch of him that she could see was black and blue. Even through the sheet, she could tell that he'd lost a lot of weight, and he was hooked up to so many machines that he seemed less alive than they were. He wasn't even breathing on his own.

God, what had they done to him?

Even though the shock of the sight made her want to turn and run, she somehow forced herself forward until she was standing beside his bed. Being that close to him was even worse than standing over by the door, she realized. Still, she made herself sit down in the chair that someone had provided. She'd been hoping for the opportunity to do this for two long weeks, so she wasn't going to back out of it now.

He was home. He may not be in the best shape at the moment, but he was still alive. That was enough to be thankful for. He would heal in time.

Funny how that thought didn't make seeing him this way any easier to bear.

Elizabeth sighed and reached out for Rodney's hand. There were wires attached to it, but she didn't care. The only thing that bothered her was how limp and lifeless it was. Rodney's hands had never stopped moving in all the time she'd known him. Then again, neither had his mouth. She couldn't believe how different he looked when he was just lying there silent and still. It was as though he wasn't really Rodney at all - just a wax replica, an empty shell.

Maybe it would help her get through if she kept on telling herself that.

Still, the longer she sat there listening to the sound of the respirator, the more she felt like taking Rodney by the shoulders and shaking him until he woke the hell up. She didn't know what to do - should she be talking to him? She'd heard that sometimes people could hear what was said around them even when they're in a coma. Then again, Rodney wasn't in a coma. He was just unconscious. Maybe she should talk to him anyway?

Maybe she shouldn't even be there in the first place.

What was she doing there, after all? Being a friend? If that were really her motivation, then wouldn't his other friends feel just as anxious to spend time with him right now? Or was she being a concerned leader? No, that was just laughable.

The truth was, she had somehow allowed her emotions to take control where Rodney was concerned, and she was beginning to hate herself for it.

After sitting there holding his hand for about an hour, Elizabeth finally decided that there was no point in staying any longer. People would just start to talk if she sat there all day and night. She had to get back to work.

With a reluctant sigh, she dragged herself onto her feet and glanced over at the door to make sure no one was watching. The coast was clear, so she laid a gentle hand on Rodney's head and leaned down to kiss his temple. "Get well soon, Rodney," she whispered. "We need you here."

She gave his hand a slight squeeze before she released it and walked out of the room.

"Ah, there you are, Dr. Weir," Dr. Beckett greeted her. "I was just about to come and see how he's doing. Is he alright?"

"I haven't noticed any changes," she said. "I figured everyone else would want a turn sitting with him, so..."

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll just pop in there for a minute, but you can send someone else through to visit."

Elizabeth nodded and went through to the waiting area. To her surprise, the first face she saw was Major Sheppard's. "John? I didn't know you'd returned," she said.

"Yeah, I told Grodin not to call you when I got back," he explained. "I didn't want to disturb you. How's Rodney?"

"He's doing okay," she said, hoping more than believing that it was true. "How did it go?"

"Better than I was expecting," he said. "You would not _believe_ what happened." He seemed almost excited as he spoke, and the light that had been absent from his eyes for the past two weeks was finally there again.

"What?" Elizabeth asked.

"The Marinans beat us there. They must have sent people to Decaria soon after we left with Rodney. By the time we got there, the people were rioting, both Marinans _and_ Decarians. They all wanted to know the truth, and the Decarian officials were doing everything they could to stop it from coming out."

"Mackush?"

"Yeah, he was there. He was trying to settle the crowd, but they were fast becoming a lynch mob. Whatever I might have said about the Decarians, I take it back. The average Joe on the street didn't know a thing about what happened, only Mackush's lackeys did. When all the Average Joes found out they'd been lied to, they were out for blood. It didn't take long before Mackush's opposition stepped in and had him arrested. His name is Nallus. Nice guy. We might actually be able to negotiate with him once everything settles down."

"So... Mackush has been dealt with, just like that?" Elizabeth said in disbelief. "That's... that's great!"

"Yeah, saved me the trouble of beating the crap out of him, though I was kinda looking forward to it," John said with a slight smile. "The Marinans took him back with them. Something tells me they'll take real good care of him."

"And... Kolya?" Elizabeth asked, though part of her was afraid to hear the answer.

John shook his head. "I asked one of the Marinans about him. Turns out, they had no proof that he had a hand in setting Rodney up, so therefore they couldn't really peg any kind of crime on him. He was operating within Marinan law in his treatment of Rodney. All he did was ask a favour of the Marinan governor, that he'd be allowed to interrogate one of the prisoners."

Elizabeth felt her face drain of all colour. "You mean... they let him go?"

"'Fraid so."

Elizabeth wasn't sure what to think or feel about that. She knew they were in no more danger from Kolya than they were before this incident, but just knowing what he'd done to Rodney without even batting an eye...

There was no way she could ever allow Atlantis to join this confederation while the Genii were still part of it.

"Elizabeth?"

She snapped back to the present when she heard John's concerned voice, suddenly realizing she'd been off in her own little world for a few moments. "Yes?"

He paused, and then said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," she assured him. "The Marinans..."

"I mean about... all of it," he said, shuffling his feet and stuffing his hands deep inside his pockets. "First losing Rodney like that, and... my attitude... I know I gave you a hard time, and I was way out of line."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. "Apology accepted," she said. "I'm sorry, too, for being... overly cautious."

"Apology accepted," he said. He took one hand out of his pocket and gestured towards the door of Rodney's room. "Can we see him?"

"Yes, by all means," she said, standing back for him to walk past her. "If he wakes up, please let me know."

"Of course."

Elizabeth smiled as John walked off into Rodney's room. Even though Rodney was still not out of the woods, it was nice to have cleared that bit of tension from the air.

Now to get everything else back to normal.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Rodney felt as though he'd been underwater for days and was finally rising to the surface for air. He was vaguely aware of voices somewhere close by, but he couldn't quite make out who was talking or what they were saying. Still, something told him they were friendly voices, not the harsh, hateful voices he'd heard in his nightmares. Were they nightmares? He couldn't quite remember...

_"Doc, it's been a week. Can't you give him something that'll wake him up?"_

"Like what, Major? This isn't Star Trek, you know. I can't just stick him with a hypospray and he's all better. His body needs to heal."

"He is healing. When's he gonna wake up?"

"Do I have to have you removed from my infirmary, Major?"

"Major."

The voices stopped as soon as Rodney muttered that one word. He didn't know why he'd done it. He didn't even know _how_ he'd done it, since his mouth felt as dry as paper and his entire body hurt like hell. It had just slipped out somehow.

"Rodney?" someone said. "You awake?"

Even through the fog that was his mind, Rodney could tell that was a stupid question. He cracked one eye open, and after blinking for a moment in the sudden light, he looked up to see a familiar face looming over him. "Ma... Sheppard," he said, or at least tried to say. His tongue didn't seem to be working very well.

Major Sheppard grinned down at him. "Hey! It's about time you woke up. You've had us all worried sick these past few days."

"Sorry..." He tried to say more, but his eye suddenly became too heavy to hold open any longer. Then he felt himself drifting back under the water again.

The next time he came up for air, the room was completely silent. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of panic, thinking he was back in that small, dark cell all alone.

As he sucked in a breath, the pain in his chest graduated from a dull roar to full-on screaming. His eyes flew open as his panic grew. This couldn't be happening... something wasn't right...

"Rodney, calm down! It's alright, you're safe!"

Elizabeth. She was sitting next to him, holding his hand, stroking his arm, trying to calm him down again. "Hey," she said with a sweet smile. "You startled me, waking up like that."

Rodney blinked in confusion. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around this - was she real? Was he really back on Atlantis, or was this just another dream? "Elizabeth?"

She smiled again. "Yeah, it's me."

He tried to lift his free hand to touch her face, but it felt like a lead weight was attached to it. "Are you real this time?" he asked.

Elizabeth's eyes started to shine like she was about to cry or something. "Yes, Rodney, I'm real," she said. "How are you feeling?"

Rodney did a quick inventory. "Like I've had the crap beaten out of me," he said with a wince.

Elizabeth looked like she'd been slapped in the face, and it made Rodney feel awful.

"Thirsty," he said in an attempt at changing the subject.

Elizabeth sprang to her feet immediately and got him some water. She even helped him take a few sips. It felt good to be waited on like that. "Anything else?" she asked as she sat down again.

"No, 's fine," Rodney said, his words starting to slur together as he grew tired again.

Elizabeth smiled and reached out a hand to stroke his hair. "It's good to have you back, Rodney," she said.

Rodney didn't know what to say to that. He remembered coming to the conclusion that no one had missed him at all - that they'd abandoned him to his fate at Kolya's hands - and now here he was, back on Atlantis with Elizabeth telling him she was glad to see him.

Maybe he was dreaming, after all.

"You... you missed me?" he finally asked.

Elizabeth laughed and swiped at her eyes. "Don't sound so surprised," she said. "You have no idea how much we've all missed you, and how hard we tried to get you back. We didn't know where you were, and God knew what they were doing to you... I almost went out of my mind."

Rodney's mouth fell open somewhere during this speech, and he just stared at her in amazement until she choked up and stopped talking. "Then... none of it was true?" he whispered.

"None of what was true?"

"K...Kolya... he said you'd left me... that you'd made a deal... you'd join the confederation if you didn't try to rescue me."

"God, no!" Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "Nothing could be further from the truth! We were tearing our hair out trying to find you, and we were about ready to declare war against the Decarians if we hadn't discovered where you were when we did. We never left you, Rodney. Don't believe a word of what Kolya told you."

These words were like music to Rodney's ears. They hadn't left him... they'd found him after all... he was safe... he was home...

He finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst into tears.

As soon as he felt himself start to crumble, Elizabeth perched herself next to him on his bed and drew his head into her lap. Even while his sobs made his ribs feel like they were on fire and his head feel like it was going to explode, Rodney couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of being comforted and loved for real. This was much sweeter than any of his trauma-induced dreams or hallucinations had been.

He cried himself to sleep, ironically feeling happier than he'd felt in a long, long time.

To be continued...


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Clang._

Rodney almost had a heart attack as he heard the familiar metal-on-metal sound. He spun around to face the source of the sudden noise, part of him expecting to see the cell door swing open and the guards run in to drag him back to Kolya.

"Sorry, McKay," Zelenka said. He hurriedly bent down to pick up the tray he'd dropped, looking like he wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow him whole. "I'm so very, very sorry..."

"It's okay, Radek," Rodney assured him as his heart started to slow down to a steady beat again. "Not your fault. And I told you to call me Rodney."

"Right. Sorry."

Rodney smiled and shook his head as he focused his attention back onto his work. As annoying as it was to have everyone walking on eggshells around him, it was nice to see that they cared enough to fear upsetting him.

The past few weeks had really been eye-opening for him. He hadn't realized before his brush with death just how alone he'd been in the midst of all of these people, and that it was completely self-inflicted solitude. He'd resolved to do all he could to remedy that as soon as he was up and about again, and one of the first orders of business had been to make the effort to remember Zelenka's name. Zelenka... Radek Zelenka... it had taken him a few days, but he'd finally got it down.

Another thing that had been high on his list was making sure his teammates knew how much he respected them and enjoyed keeping their company. They seemed surprised by his sudden transformation, but after a couple of days the novelty of being amongst them again had worn off and Rodney had lost his temper over something trivial, thereby setting their minds at ease over the question of whether or not he'd suffered personality-altering brain damage during his ordeal.

The most important thing Rodney had had to deal with, however, and the thing that was taking the most time to change, was his relationship with Elizabeth. He'd seen something in her the day that he'd first woken up to find her sitting there beside him, something that seemed to run deeper than just her feelings of friendship for him. She seemed to be fighting against it all through those first few days of his recovery, and yet she'd always been there to hold him through his flashbacks and calm him down after his nightmares. He was determined to find out what that was all about, no matter how long it took.

Speaking of Elizabeth...

Rodney glanced at his watch and winced when he saw the time. "Can you finish up here?" he asked Zelenka as he stood up and started organizing all the papers and things on his desk. "I'm late for lunch."

"And we all know how you get when your blood sugar is low," Zelenka said in a dry tone. "Yes, yes, I can finish this. Go."

Rodney smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder as he passed him. "See you later," he said. Then he walked out of the room as quickly as he could without actually running.

Everyone he passed on the way to the mess hall gave him a smile and a nod, showing their encouragement and support now that he was back at work. There wasn't one person in the city that didn't know what a tough few weeks it had been for him, and no one would have wanted to be in his place through it all. He wasn't used to everyone admiring him like this, and it felt damn good.

For this reason, he was already walking on clouds by the time he reached the mess hall, so when he saw Elizabeth sitting there waiting for him, he felt like he would burst with happiness. She looked up as he entered, and her smile lit up the room.

"Hey," she said as he walked up beside her, "I was starting to think you'd stood me up."

"Never." He bent down and kissed her cheek, and then slipped into the seat beside hers. She'd already brought his food to the table - she was always thoughtful like that - but he could see that she hadn't started her own yet. He was touched that she'd waited for him, especially since he'd been late.

Suddenly, he was hit with a great idea. He got to his feet and held out his hand to her, stopping her just as she was about to take a bite out of her sandwich. "Come on," he said. "Let's take this to the southwest pier and eat it there. Like a... picnic."

Elizabeth looked surprised at first, but then she grinned. "I'd love to," she said. She stood up and lifted her tray, turning to face him with an impish look on her face. "Lead the way."

Rodney beamed and picked up his own tray. "Leading," he said, turning on his heel and heading for the door.

Elizabeth laughed and followed him out of the mess hall and into the transporter. As Rodney looked over at her and saw the open, excited look on her face, it suddenly occurred to him that all through his life he'd felt like something had been missing - that some part of him was empty. At some point over the past few weeks, that feeling had disappeared.

_'So this is what it feels like to love,'_ he thought to himself as the door of the transporter swung open and Elizabeth stepped out. _'I wonder why I've always been afraid of it?'_

"Are you coming?" Elizabeth asked when she noticed that he hadn't followed her out of the transporter yet.

Rodney gave himself a mental shake and smiled. "Thank you, Elizabeth," he said as he stepped out into the hall.

"For what?"

He shrugged. "Just thank you. Shall we?"

Elizabeth shook her head in confusion over his remark, but she smiled and linked her arm with his as he led her towards the balcony. "I hope we don't sit in a cowpat or get overrun by ants," she joked.

Rodney couldn't help but laugh out loud at that, and even though he felt a slight twinge in his ribs as a reminder of what he'd been through, he'd never felt more at peace.

It was good to be alive.

THE END


End file.
